Holy of Holies
by NinjaPadawan
Summary: With Elias Powers looking for revenge and to secure a place in the Omega Defiance, Aaron Stone finds himself battling to protect his most sacred and important secret: his identity as Charlie Landers.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! This is my first fanfiction I have ever written, so I'm excited to start posting it and see what you all think!  
I know this part is really short, (It's like a prologue/teaser) but I promise it gets much, much longer. The next part should  
be out within a few days, as it is almost completed. Constructive criticism is very much welcomed and appreciated. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Aaron Stone. I am not making any money off of this story.  
I am just enjoying the pleasant dip into the wonderful world of Aaron Stone**

________________________________________________________________________

The latest headquarters for the Omega Defiance were quiet at three o'clock in the morning. An abandoned underground Soviet submarine base,  
it had once been a secret storage station for nuclear bombs. The rusting facility was still undergoing remodeling for the new tenant, and was mostly  
deserted. Only the half-functioning communication and security room was completed.

The room was dark and vacant, save a lone figure sitting in front of a TV screen. The picture playing flashed eerie light spectacles on the  
motionless observer's face. Through the speakers, a fuzzy voice could be heard: "… I'm calm, cool, collected." Static interrupts the feed right  
before another video clip begins, featuring the same main character.

In the footage, Mr. Hall's boy hero, Aaron Stone, expertly wields his gauntlet, taking out Helix's savage mutants. Another clip illustrates how  
the boy defeated Kronis' son, as both suddenly appear and disappear in different places and positions within seconds. Stone wins. The next  
clip is of Xero's Japanese base, and the traps Stone cleverly navigates successfully. The clips continue to play in succession, each showing a  
similar scenario: Aaron Stone, a teenaged boy, defeating members of the Omega Defiance.

Elias Powers does not move as he silently watches, staring intently at the screen. The next image is impressive, displaying Aaron Stone fighting  
off four of Cerebella's best men, flipping and dodging them all easily as he disarms them, one by one. Elias remains impassive, simply observing.  
Next is an image of a warehouse Elias remembers all-too personally, and he finally moves, a slight twitch, as he watches himself easily disarmed  
by the mere teenager.

He jerks forward and shuts off the video. In the soft blue light cast from the screen, he peers down at the console in front of him, at a small disk.  
Across it is scrawled: _'Hall Holding Facility'_. Gingerly, he picks it up and inserts it into the player. A new image appears, one of his former prison,  
and he scowls. He fast-forwards, going through several hours of footage until a single figure enters the frame. He hits play and turns up the volume,  
listening intently. "… Do you like it? Aww man, I love it, me and my brother, we play all the—."

The corner of Elias's mouth curves upwards slightly. He reaches out and rewinds it again. "Aww man, I love it, me and my brother…" He rewinds it  
again. "… me and my brother…" He stops it, zooming in on Aaron's face. Leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, he takes in the moment when  
the "great hero" realizes what he gave away, his fear emblazoned across the screen. Elias grins.

* * *

_So, it's not much. But it_ _gives you an idea of where I'm going with the story and I wanted a scene with the very creepy (but awesome) Elias Powers  
conspiring against Aaron Stone and figuring out how to take him down. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more! _


	2. Chapter 2

**Here is the next part! Not a whole lot of action yet, but I promise that is coming up in the next few chapters. **

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Aaron Stone or make any money off this story.**

* * *

It was a rare gathering. Seven of the world's greatest minds together in one room, all of them pioneers in their fields, accomplishing things no one had dared to dream of. No one could deny that the Omega Defiance was brilliant. Perhaps some may call them evil, but they were still brilliant.

Elias Powers smiled to himself as he thought of his former boss, and all that T. Abner Hall had done to get these people together. Too bad he lost control, he thought. Powers would not make the same mistakes as Hall. These may be the seven smartest minds, but that was the seven _after _him.

The Omega Defiance members had turned their genius toward weapons, deadly toxins, viruses, diseases, mind control, and other previously "unethical" scientific pursuits due in large part to a serum they unanimously took. It turned their brilliant minds towards more aggressive and destructive pursuits. Elias had taken no such serum. He didn't need it.

He remembered when he'd been designing Hall's Hero Rising videogame, impressed and engaged by the intricate storyline the man had woven into the game play. He'd always preferred the villains in games. He found them more interesting, wanted to be more like them. When he found out it was indeed _not just a game _he was obviously excited, and immediately went to offer the Omega defiance his help, taking all of Hall's secrets with him.

The Omega Defiance had welcomed him and he'd used his secrets to buy his way into the circle. He'd become one of their best developers and programmers. He bided his time, and had become valuable enough that they had staged a breakout from Hall's facility for him. A courtesy not even Kronis' brat, Dax, was afforded. Elias smirked.

He watched from where he was hidden as the seven debated over why this meeting had been called and wondered aloud over the inconvenience. They had all become too cut off from each other and the Omega Defiance. They were allowing Aaron Stone to slip through them and take them out slowly, one at a time. Elias Powers had put too much work into the Omega Defiance to see that happen.

He'd made Hero Rising impossible to beat. No online player would ever be able to beat the digital Omega Defiance, and Elias was determined to see that the same remain true for the real Omega Defiance as well.

Straightening his jacket, he emerged from the shadows and walked toward the seven members. They all quieted immediately, and then the questions began. Helix wanted to know why he was pulled away from his mutants. Kronis wants to know if he had finished reprogramming a circuit board they acquired from the U.S. military, and Cerebella asked about the system design for her new ghost company. Zephyr opened his mouth to speak but Elias held up hand, interrupting. "I'm afraid I have halted work on _all_ your projects, for the time being" he stated matter-of-factly.

There was a short, shocked silence. Elias tried not to smile when, as one, they all rose from their seats, roaring out demands and explanations. He remained still and calm, waiting for them to settle down.

When they finally began to quiet, Kronis stepped toward him, angry. "What is the meaning of this Powers? I have very precise schedules I need to keep and—."

Cerebella elbowed her way past Kronis. "If I don't get my new security system online by next week I will be completely vulnerable. That is your job, Powers."

Helix was loudest as he came up, into Elias' personal space. " And what about my new computer application for mutant production?!"

Elias cringed, repulsed by the odorous combination of chemicals and wet animal that came off the DNA doctor.

He slowly took a few steps to the side, glancing around at the unhappy faces. Smiling slightly to himself, he looked back at Helix. "Why aren't your mutants withstanding combat, doctor?"

Without giving Helix time to answer, he turned to Cerebella, who stood glaring. "Cerebella, _why_ do you need a brand new security system?"

Without pausing he stepped over to Kronis, leaning close. "Why is your son rotting in one of the worst Russian prisons?" he whispered. Kronis stared at him, taken aback.

Elias smiled and turned to the whole room. "You all have the same problem." He folded his hands behind his back. "And his name is Aaron Stone."

Many in the room cringed at the name.

Helix scoffed. "And I suppose you think you can defeat him? You. While all of us have failed."

Dr. Necros, who had remained silent and seated throughout the entire meeting finally stood up. "Some of us more than others, Doctor," he pointed out.

Helix bristled. Ignoring him, Dr. Necros turned to the rest of the Omega Defiance. "We broke him out of prison for a reason, and I for one am interested to hear how he thinks he can accomplish this feat."

Elias bowed his head in thanks, carefully watching the expressions of the rest of the Omegas. When he was sure they were listening, he continued.

"You have all failed at bringing down Aaron Stone for one reason," he stated, holding up a finger. "You keep fighting him individually, when you should be working together to take him down. Years ago, Mr. Hall gathered you together to form a think take to better mankind."

Elias grinned. "Well I say form a think tank to bring down Aaron Stone."

"I have already implemented my own plan, but I need each one of you for it to work. The entire Omega Defiance."

No one said anything, all of them seeming to gage if he was capable. Kronis finally spoke up. "Logic says that this is the part where you tell us what you want."

Elias smirks, nodding. "I do want something… but I think you'll find it reasonable." He looks around at all the members. "I want in."

At the confused looks, he clarifies. "If I deliver Aaron Stone, I become the newest member of the Omega Defiance."

A collective murmur goes through the seven members, some of them angry, others merely disbelieving his nerve.

Dr. Necros looks thoughtful.

Kronis seems to be considering it. "It would be more even," he mused.

Helix laughs harshly. "Who are you to think you can be a member of the Omega Defiance?!"

Elias looks back at Helix, staring directly at him. "I'm the man who is going to deliver Aaron Stone. Something not one of you have managed to accomplish."

Helix steps up in front of Elias again. "I'll believe it when I see it," he spats out.

Dr. Necros rises and walks over. "As will I." He indicates for Helix to back away from Elias. "Careful, Helix. We can always just replace a current member," he says warningly.

Enraged and surprised at the suggestion, Helix backs away, but still glares at Powers. Elias can see that Helix does not trust him one bit. But Helix posed no threat to Elias, and he could deal with him later.

General Cross was standing with his arms crossed, looking excited at the prospect of going after Stone. "I've been trying to tell all of you, we take a direct approach to the problem, attack hard and strong…"

Elias chuckled. "Not quite, general. We will hit him hard, I assure you. However, a direct approach has not worked out for any of you so far; therefore I propose something with a little more… stealth?" he said, trying to use terminology the General would appreciate. Cross looked wary, but said nothing.

Helix spoke up, skeptical. "So I suppose you have a plan?"

Elias smiled thinly. "Oh I have a plan." He faced all seven of the Omega Defiance members, resolute in his next words. "I will find Aaron Stone… and he will be destroyed."

The seven exchanged glances with each other. Several of them nodded and they all looked to Dr. Necros. Pleased, Necros turned to Elias. "We are looking forward to getting rid of the persistent pest. We will give you whatever you need."

Elias Powers grinned, a slightly manic expression. "Generous. But for now, I simply need… Xero." The Omegas looked surprised at this request, but none more so then Xero. He'd been mostly in his own little world throughout the entire meeting and looked at Powers, wide-eyed and confused.

"Me?" he asked disbelievingly.

Elias just smiled. "I'm interested on your recent work in robotics, particularly that of androids."

************

"Landers!"

Charlie grinned as he jumped off the bench and ran out onto the court. He high-fived one of his teammates as he ran by and joined the practice match. His academic probation had at last been lifted and he was elated to be back on the basketball team. It was nice to finally be able to do something normal.

He kept a tight guard on his guy, not giving him any room to weave around him. Unfortunately, his opponent was a lot taller than him. He saw that the ball was about to be thrown over his head and planted his feet firmly, bending slightly at the knees. It's just like if you were wearing the X5s, he thought to himself.

Just as the ball came sailing toward them, he leaped, jumping straight up. Grabbing the ball with both hands in mid-air, he nimbly landed back on his feet and took off across the court. He was too fast for the other team and he executed a beautiful lay-up, the familiar swoosh sound of the ball flying through the net making him grin.

As he ducked behind bounds to return the ball, he glanced at his brother, who was standing in front of the entire cheerleading squad, attempting to work his charm. Charlie threw the ball to a teammate, shaking his head.

As the game went on, he realized how much he'd missed after-school activities that did not involve saving the world. World-domination attempts from the Omega Defiance had been surprisingly sparse the last two months, something he was very grateful for.

As the other team attempted to get closer to the net, Charlie dodged around his guard and stole the ball from the other guy mid-dribble, taking off down the court and passing the ball off.

The last few missions had been fairly easy. Sure, different members of the Defiance had attempted to steal some very dangerous weapons and toxins at different times and places, but each time he managed to foil the scheme without any serious trouble. Maybe he was getting better at his job.

The ball was thrown back to him, and he tried to move in closer to the net to get off a shot. His guard was too good, so he bounced it over to one of his teammates.

The only thing Charlie worried about was the escaped Elias Powers. The threatening message he'd received through Hero Rising still gave him nightmares. He'd gotten used to bad guys coming after him, but he didn't want to see them come after his family. He'd told Stan about the threatening message, who assured him his home and secret identity were safe and Powers had no way of getting to that information. It had helped him relax a little bit.

Charlie's attention was brought back to the game as the ball was passed back to him. He tried to find an opening, but got pushed back to the 3-point line. Deciding to go for it, he lifted his arms and let the ball sail towards the net in a perfect arch.

_Swoosh._ Charlie grinned. Oh yeah, he thought, life was looking good.

***

Charlie exited the boy's locker room, showered and dressed back in his school clothes. The gym was mostly empty now, except for the cheerleading squad, who were practicing. Charlie spoted his brother sitting alone on the bleachers, chin resting in his hands as he gazed at the twirling and tumbling girls longingly.

Smiling to himself, he walks up to his oblivious little brother, stopping right beside him. When Jason makes no move to indicate he even knows Charlie is there, he reaches out a hand and flicks Jason in the ear, hard. The response is immediate.

"Oww!" Jason exclaims, reaching up and grabbing his ear. He looks over at Charlie, accusingly. "Dude!?"

Charlie smiles. "It's rude to stare, Jay."

Jason tries to act like he has no idea what his older brother is talking about. "I- I wasn't staring."

Charlie scoffs and glances at the cheerleaders. Several of them are throwing mean looks at his little brother. He slowly turns back to Jason, eyebrow raised. "Your 'direct, confident approach' strikes out again?"

"Psst… no" Jason attempts to deny. He waves a hand, indicating the girls. "They had to practice—"

"Uh Huh."

Jason ignores him, standing up and grabbing his bag. "Okay. Time to go, right?" he says quickly, heading for the gym exit and giving the cheerleaders a wide berth.

Chuckling, Charlie jogs to catch up with him. Right as they are about to leave, part of the squad's pyramid collapses, sending several of the girls down on their rears.

Charlie and Jason cannot help themselves, and their barely disguised snickers gain the attention of over a dozen livid cheerleaders; and the for the two boys, the sight is both marvelous and terrifying.

They exchange a quick glance. "We should run now?" Jason asks, whispering.

Charlie nods. "Yep."

As one, they turn and hastily escape through the gym doors, running for their lives.

The boys make it as far as the football field before they run into Stan, who was waiting for them.

"Stan!" Jason exclaims, glancing nervously over his shoulder. He turns back to Stan and grabs onto his shoulders. "Look," he pleads, "we really need to get out of here, so could whatever this is wait till we get back to the house?"

Stan looks at Jason as if he is one of the oddest things he'd ever seen. Charlie tries hard not to laugh, bringing up a hand to hide his smile. Stan seems curious, probably wondering what they were running from, but lets it go as he turns to Charlie.

"I need to speak to you about one of your _assignments_," Stan said, stressing the last word.

Charlie sighed. So much for a normal after-school day. "Sure," he said, resigned. He shoved lightly against Jason's shoulder. "Go wait for me by the trash can."

Jason was fidgeting nervously, throwing constant glances behind him. "Just hurry up," he complained.

Charlie and Stan moved to the side, closer to a tree. Stan glanced around a few times before pressing against his ear. "Standby for Mr. Hall."

In the next instant, the deep voice of Mr. Hall came filtering through Stan. The effect was always a little disconcerting. "Hello, Aaron Stone. Cerebella has been spotted in Romania. There is a warehouse located outside the city of Oradea that stores scientific and medical supplies and equipment. Right now it is holding several neurological devices we believe she is trying to get her hands on."

Charlie snorts. "Well it is Cerebella." The silence makes Charlie realize he probably should not have spoken.

"Yes." Mr. Hall says firmly. "You need to make sure she does not get a hold of these items. I am sending Stan the coordinates. Good Luck."

Stan jerks his head as the connection is cut. He glances at Charlie expectantly. "What did Mr. Hall say?"

Charlie rolled his eyes. "That sometimes, my life sucks." Shoulders slumped, he made his way back to his brother, trying to figure out what lie he would use as his excuse this time.

***

Aaron and Stan carefully made their way toward the warehouse Cerebella was supposed to be robbing. It was located in a large industrial area, loaded with different warehouses and storage crates. Plenty of places to hide. Cerebella always traveled with a large entourage of large and heavily armed goons, so they were being careful not to be taken by surprise.

Finally, they peered around a corner, toward their target warehouse. There was not a person in sight. "Uh… Stan?" He looked at the android, brow furrowed. "You sure this is the right one?"

Stan peered around Aaron, before quickly darting back against the wall. "Affirmative. That is definitely the one."

Aaron looked dubious, but crouched low and carefully made his way to a stack of crates and containers so he could get a closer vantage point. He scoped the place out as he heard Stan come up behind him. From his position, he could make out two large black Hummers and a silvery-white Lexus. So Cerebella was here, yet something still felt off.

"Where are the lookouts? The guards?" he asked, confused. Of the seven, Cerebella always seemed to keep the most security around her. Getting to her was difficult. So why did it suddenly seem so easy?

He and Stan exchanged a perplexed glance. "What do you think we should do, Aaron Stone?"

Aaron narrowed his eyes, thinking. They needed to make sure Cerebella didn't get her hands on that equipment. Who knew what a crazy genius bent on mind control could do with such machines. He didn't want to find out. He signaled for Stan to follow him and jogged toward the entrance to the warehouse, telling himself he was just being paranoid.

As he and Stan enter, they hear the unmistakable voice of Cerebella ordering around her goons. He and Stan cautiously make there way towards the voice, keeping out of sight. They duck behind steel shelves piled with various equipment and boxes. From there, they can see two men packing up a large crate and moving it onto a flatbed. Two more are standing guard.

Putting a hand to his gauntlet, Aaron steps out into the room, pointing his weapon at the closest guards. "I don't think that belongs to you."

Suddenly, four laser guns are aimed at his chest. Cerebella smiles. "Aaron Stone, always so punctual." Aaron smiles. Cerebella frowns. "Get him."

Aaron ducks and rolls as four lasers pass harmlessly over his head. He comes up in between the two guards, performing a flying split kick his karate instructor would be proud of.

Only one guard goes down. The other stumbles but manages to right himself and deliver his own brutal kick, catching Aaron in the stomach. As he doubles over with a gasp, he sees the second man climbing to his feet. Thinking fast, he rushes forward, grabbing the other guard's fist as he swings it towards his jaw. Quickly, he slides his hand to the guy's wrist, pulling and twisting his arm around as he ducks behind him. The man grunts in pain. With another kick, Aaron sends him careening forward, directly into his fellow henchman. They went down in a tangle of limbs.

Aaron had no time to celebrate as he quickly ducked behind a crate to avoid a laser blast. The other two goons had abandoned the flat bed holding the machine and were now backing up as they shot toward his location. A quick glance allowed Aaron to see that Cerebella was typing something into a small box-shaped machine.

Frustrated, he glanced around for a way to get over there, when Cerebella suddenly called out over the noise. "Looks like you win this time, Aaron Stone! I suggest you leave soon!"

Confused, Aaron waited until the fire stopped and cautiously rose to his feet. All four guards and Cerebella had left the warehouse. He ran over to where she had been standing, glancing at the beeping terminal. His eyes widened.

"Stan!"

When the android did not immediately show up he yelled louder. "STAN!"

Stan finally appeared, running over quickly and looking down at the small screen. His own eyes bulged slightly.

"It's a computer bomb! Just like the ones in Hero Rising! See if you can talk to it, get it to shut of, I'll go after Cerebella." Stan nodded as Aaron took off toward the entrance, pulling a cable out of his hand and inserting it into the bomb.

When Aaron burst through the warehouse doors, he saw that Cerebella was already in her car. Aaron was startled to see there was also a passenger in the car: Xero. He saw Aaron and smiled, waving as Cerebella hit the gas and tore out of sight. He managed to get a few shots off at the black hummers right behind her, but they were already too far away.

He let out a frustrated breath. At least she didn't get away with anything, he thought. But what was up with Xero? Why would he be here? Why did Cerebella give up so easily? None of it made any sense to Aaron.

Stan came up behind him. "Congratulations, Aaron Stone," he said happily. "Cerebella did not acquire the device."

Aaron shrugs, not sure if he would count this mission as a victory. Deciding to not worry about it for right now he smiles at Stan. "Good job on diffusing the bomb."

"Oh I didn't shut it off," Stan explains matter-of-factly.

Charlie looks over at the android, wondering if he'd heard right. "What?"

"That computer bomb was a very ornery fellow." Stan reached up and tugged on his ear, absently. "I could only convince it to add an extra minute to its countdown." He smiled at Aaron, who stared back in disbelief.

Grabbing the android's arm, Aaron ran as fast as he could away from the warehouse, thankful Stan had obviously caught on and was able to keep up. They were almost to the next warehouse, when the building behind them erupts in a huge ball of flames, sending debris and black smoke into the air. The shockwave from the blast knocks them both to the ground.

Rising to his feet with a groan, Aaron dusts himself off, all the while glaring at Stan.

Stan calmly gets up, looking sheepish. He nervously looks at Aaron.

"I suppose I should have asked for more than a minute."

Aaron rolls his eyes and heads toward where they parked the SSJ.

Stan goes to follow but his left leg refuses to move, as if glued to the pavement. He looks down at it oddly. Suddenly, it finally steps forward with a slight jerk. An electronic shiver goes up his metal spine and Stan shudders. His head jerks to the side with an audible whir and his eyes flash. Shaking his head, Stan pauses, trying to run diagnostics to find a problem, but it comes up clear.

"Come on, Stan!"

He jerks up at Aaron's and takes off, forgetting about the momentary glitch.

* * *

_Hope you all enjoyed it! Most of this is new stuff I added in to set up the story a little better. I promise it gets more exciting! Thanks for reading!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone! I know this update is long overdue, but college has been a nightmare lately. I'm taking my first Law class and it is eating up all my time. **

**The good news is that I have this part finished and the next chapter should be out in the next day or so, since it is pretty much finished. I hope you all enjoy this next part. There's more Jason for the Jason fans, but he was meant to have a big part in this story, so keep tuning in. **

**Disclaimer: as usual, I do not own these characters or make money off of this story....You would think I would be able to do better than that since I'm in Law :)**

* * *

Charlie tried not to fall asleep as Stan lectured on about something to do with applied physics. He was using his arm to prop up his head, so he at least appeared to still be attentive.  
He knew from personal experience that Stan would not give him a break in class just because he was out all night trying to save the world. Even if he had been with him. Stan  
was getting very comfortable in his role as a teacher and took it very seriously; too seriously, in Charlie's opinion. What did it take for a hero to get a break?

"Pay attention, Charlie."

He jerked as Stan addressed him, unaware that he'd nodded off. He heard a few snickers from his classmates. Annoyed, he glared at Stan, who just smiled and turned to the board to write  
something down. Charlie rolled his eyes, knowing it would be pointless to argue with the android about how much sleep he required in order to function during the day. The last time he had  
attempted, he got a long-winded explanation he didn't understand half-of, telling him that, mathematically, he had sufficient recharge time each night. Apparently, Stan had trouble grasping  
the fact that he had to stay up late to do the homework he couldn't do during the day while he was off fighting bad guys. Like most teachers, Stan seemed to think his was the only class Charlie  
took, and assigned homework in that mindset.

Figuring he should at least attempt to write down the notes on the board, he picked up his pen. When he looked up he noticed that Stan had paused, in the middle of a word, and  
was not moving. Charlie frowned, glancing around at his classmates. All of them were looking at Mr. Stan's back with confusion. Stan stayed that way, frozen stiff like  
only a robot could manage. Concerned murmurs had broken out in the classroom and a few students seemed ready to get up and ask if the teacher was all right.

Beating them to the punch, Charlie hopped out of his chair and moved to the front of the class. He really wished Emma were here. Her technical genius would no doubt come in handy at this  
precise moment, for he certainly had no idea how to deal with a malfunctioning android.

As he was reaching out to grab his shoulder, Stan gave a small lurch, causing Charlie to start. The whispers behind him ceased instantly and everyone was quiet as they waited for their teacher  
to explain his sudden, odd behavior. Oblivious, Stan finished the word he had been writing, continuing the motion as if he had never paused. Finishing the sentence, he turned and saw Charlie  
standing right behind him. He looked confused as he gazed back at Charlie, who was staring at him strangely.

"Yes, Charlie?" he asked, clearly puzzled.

Charlie looked at him oddly. It was like he had no idea what had just happened. He wanted to ask several questions, but figured it could wait till they both were at his house.

Instead, he asked, " May I go to the restroom?"

Stan's confusion was replaced with a grin. "Of, course!"

With one last baffled glance at Stan, who had recommenced his lecture, Charlie exited the room, making a mental note to talk to Emma.

* * *

Charlie placed his last book in his backpack that he would probably not open over the long weekend and shut his locker. Emma was standing on the other side.

She grinned. "So how'd the mission go last night?" she asked cheerfully.

Charlie shrugged. "Cerebella didn't get what she came for, I guess." He hoisted his bag over his shoulder and leaned back against his locker.

Emma frowned, curious. "Sounds like a success, then. Why the brooding-hero look?"

Charlie sighed. "The warehouse blew up."

Emma cringed. "Oops"

"Understatement." Charlie stated. "Plus, there was just something about the whole mission that felt… off."

Emma crossed her arms, frowning. "Like what?"

Charlie glanced at the students filling up the hall, all of them excited at the prospect of a three-day weekend. "It was too easy."

Emma scoffed, trying not to laugh. "Too easy?" She grinned. "Charlie, you just told me that the warehouse got blown up."

"Exactly." He persisted. "Cerebella blew it up with the stuff she came for _inside,_ she only had four goons with her, and they barely made an effort to get the machine after we showed up. Then they  
just take off. It was weird."

Emma looked dubious. "I dunno, Charlie…"

Charlie leaned closer as one of their classmates opened up a locker right next to them. "Right before it blew, I saw Xero walk out of the warehouse and get into the car with Cerebella."

Emma frowned. "Xero?" she asked, as if she'd heard wrong. Charlie nodded. Emma seemed to think about it for a moment. "Did you tell Mr. Hall all of this?" she finally asked.

Charlie nodded. "About Xero, yeah."

Emma stepped away from the lockers. "Well then, he'll take care of it. You don't need to worry about it. Come on, let's get out of here."

Charlie knew Emma was probably right, but he couldn't help but feel like he was missing something. True, the mission had been fairly easy, besides almost being blow up. And the bad guys _had_ gotten  
away with nothing. Yet it felt like they had gotten away with _something_, something he had missed. Charlie made a mental note to ask Stan what else had been in that warehouse. He followed Emma  
through the halls, weaving in and out of crowds.

Maybe Mr. Hall had gotten Cerebella's target wrong. Though that still didn't explain Xero's involvement. He couldn't recall the Omega Defiance ever performing super-villain team-ups. Despite their  
common goal for world conquest and chaos, they had always seemed to hate each other.

Down the hall, Charlie saw Stan emerge from his classroom. A few students came up to him and he greeted them with enthusiasm. Charlie grabbed Emma's arm to halt her, still watching Stan.  
"Wait" he said. Emma looked at him oddly.

He let go of her arm, indicating Stan with his head. "Have you noticed anything weird about Stan today?"

Emma turned around to glance at the android. "No…" She turned back to Charlie. "Why?" she asked curiously.

Charlie shook his head, unsure. "He was acting strange in class today. It was like he just suddenly went offline, or turned off or something."

Emma's brows furrowed. "You want me to come by later and offer to give him a full diagnostics check?"

Charlie smiled gratefully. "That'd be great, Emma, yeah."

Emma grinned. "Cool. Now can we please get out of here? Our long weekend doesn't officially start until we step outside these evil walls."

Charlie laughed. "Then let's go." He followed Emma toward the front exit, throwing one more glance at Stan as he left.

* * *

Charlie waved goodbye to Emma and bounded up his front steps. He sighed deeply as he entered the house. It had been a long week, both in school and the hero business, and he was looking forward to  
taking a nice long nap.

"Take that!" Charlie paused right outside his door, listening.

"And that—whoa! Close one."

He rolled his eyes and sighed to himself. He was too tired to be dealing with his little brother today. Opening the door, the expected site greeted him: Jason was fully immersed in Hero Rising, his whole body  
jerking with the controller as his avatar weaved in and out of an army of Helix's mutants, taking them out as he went.

Charlie noticed with annoyance that Jason had signed on under his avatar, Aaron Stone, again.

"Yes! You just got pownd! Oh I am awesome… beware of... Aaron… Stooone! Jason's fingers were flying over the controller. "Yes!" he crowed, punching his fist in the air.

A loud explosion came from the game, enveloping Aaron Stone. Jason's face fell. "No!" Pounding furiously at the controls, he tried in vain to revive his avatar. A large 'game over' flashed across the screen.  
"Awe, Man!" Jason groaned.

Charlie could not help but agree with the sentiment. Now Jason's pathetic score was going to affect his record. Deciding he'd seen enough, he cleared his throat, satisfied when his little brother almost  
fell off the chair in surprise.

Jason looked over to see Charlie standing behind him, arms crossed and eyebrow raised. He didn't look happy. He grinned up at his brother. "How's it going, bro?" Charlie grinned back, but it didn't make  
Jason feel any better .

"I thought we agreed you were never going to pretend to be me again," Charlie said in an overly nice voice. He looked at the TV, where _his_ avatar is now lying, defeated. Jason glanced back at the television  
as well, wincing. Jason opened his mouth to reply, but Charlie cut him off.

"Or at least never _try_ to again," Charlie corrected himself.

Jason tried to explain himself. "I got stuck on that level with the mutants and the virus. It got boring, so I figured I'd try out some of the stages I haven't reached yet."

Charlie scoffed. "You mean, will never reach?"

Jason frowns. "Thanks for the encouragement, bro."

Charlie ignored him and grabbed the controller away. "How did you even get here so fast? Emma and I didn't see you at all."

Jason stood up and moved away as he watched Charlie put away the game. "_Dude_, it's the Friday before a long weekend. Three whole days off instead of the meager two we usually get! I was out the  
doors and halfway home before the bell was done ringing."

Charlie finished shoving all the game controllers into his console and turned off the television, and then he went over and turned off the light. Jason frowned.

"What are you doing?"

Ignoring him, Charlie went over and collapsed onto his bed, closing his eyes and smiling as he sunk into the pillows. It felt so good to just relax for once and he was looking forward to sleeping for a long  
time.

The light suddenly blazed back on and Charlie's eyes slowly opened, his jaw clinching in annoyance.

"You're going to _sleep_?" Jason sounded shocked.

Charlie groaned into his pillow.

"It's Friday and the beginning of an epic weekend and you want to _sleep_?"

Charlie slowly sat up and glared daggers at Jason, who was too busy telling Charlie why he should get up to notice. Shaking his head, he stalked over to Jason.

"We need to plan. Figure out exactly when we are going to throw our party—I was thinking tomorrow night, tonight might be too short a notice—decide when—"

Charlie tuned him out, reaching behind him to flick the lights back off and then got back into bed, crawling under the covers. He let out a long breath and snuggled deeper into the sheets.

The lights came back on. Charlie's eyes flew open and he flung his covers angrily to the side. Launching himself out of his bed he walked right up to Jason, who finally stopped talking. Jason stared at him, finally  
realizing he may have pushed too much.

Charlie kept his sentences short and clipped; afraid he might blow up at his brother if he did not. "Jason. I am tired. I am going to sleep. And we are not throwing a party."

Jason's face immediately fell. "Awe, man. Come on! It's the perfect opportunity! Mom won't be here and we can totally figure out a way to get Stan out of the house!"

Charlie frowned. "Where's mom going?"

Jason looked at him like he'd lost it. "Uh… the conference she's been talking about all week?"

Oh yeah. Charlie remembered his mom mentioning she had to go out of town for a few days. But he had no idea it was this weekend. That meant he was going to have to keep an extra eye on Jason the next  
few days. So much for relaxing, he thought to himself.

Charlie sighed. "Look, Jay. I need to grab a few hours of sleep and then I'll come down and we can talk about what we are going to do, okay?"

Jason grinned. "Yeah, okay. Awesome! I have so many great ideas that—" Charlie nodded and pretended to be listening as he pushed Jason out the door. Finally, he went to close it but paused.

"Oh, and Jason?"

Jason turned around and looked eagerly at Charlie, waiting.

Charlie smiled. "No parties," he said, and slammed the door. He grinned as he turned off the light and went back to his bed. But the minute his head hit the pillow someone knocked on his door.

"That's _it_,"he growled. He went and jerked it open, livid and ready to chew Jason out and then kill him.

A surprised Stan stared back at him. He exhaled noisily. "Hey, Stan."

"Charlie." Stan greeted, still a little wary. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine," Charlie assured him. "Just really tired."

Stan suddenly looked very antsy and even apologetic. Charlie felt like screaming, but sighed and let Stan into his room, flipping the lights on with a bit more force than was necessary. Stan followed silently.

Sitting down on his bed, he looked at Stan expectantly. "Another mission from Mr. Hall?"

Stan shut the door behind him and glanced around the room. "Not exactly. Mr. Hall needs to speak with you."

Charlie shrugged. "Alright, put him through."

Stan shook his head and took a step forward. "I am afraid the matter about which he wishes to speak with you is too critical and requires meeting Mr. Hall in person."

Charlie frowned. It wasn't often that Mr. Hall had the time or the need to meet with him personally. The last time he'd met with the mysterious creator of hero rising had been when Elias Powers was still  
imprisoned. That had been several months ago.

"Do you know what this is about?" he asked Stan, curious. Stan shook his head.

"I received a message during class today instructing me to bring you to a new location provided by Mr. Hall as soon as possible. That is all I know."

Charlie briefly wondered if the incoming message was what made Stan act so strangely in class. Then he realized what Stan had said. "Wait a second. He wants me to come meet him _right now_?"

Stan smiled and nodded. "Precisely. I already have the SSJ on stand-by and I have instructed Emma to watch Jason."

Charlie just looked at him incredulously.

The loud honking of a car horn suddenly made them both turn their heads. Stan's head suddenly jerked back and forth a few times and he turned to Charlie. "I'm sorry. I must have forgotten. Your mother  
wanted you to come downstairs to say goodbye. She is departing for her trip." Stan looked perplexed, if that was even possible for a super-advanced android.

Reminding himself to talk to Stan later, he went outside to say goodbye to his mother; and now, he thought to himself, to figure out another lie to feed Jason about why he was going to have to take off for  
a few hours.

He pushed the thought away as he stepped outside. His mom was already in her car, with Jason standing by the window, rubbing his cheek. Charlie jogged over to them, grinning sheepishly. His mom  
raised an eyebrow, but she was smiling.

"Gee, thanks for taking the time to come say goodbye to your mother, I appreciate it," she said sarcastically.

Charlie smiled and leaned through the window to give her a hug. "Have fun, mom."

She kissed him on the cheek. "Now I expect the house to be clean when I get back; and Jason, clean your room." Jason rolled his eyes. She looked at Charlie. "Charlie make sure he cleans it up."

Charlie, who was rubbing his cheek, looked at Jason, smirking. "I will." Jason glared.

Their mom smiled and started up the car. "Alright. Be good, boys. Stan will be here but if you need me, just call." Both boys nodded. "Jason, behave. Charlie… look after your brother," she implored.

Charlie grinned, slinging an arm around Jason, who started struggling to escape. Charlie gripped him tighter. "No worries, mom."

She smiled as Jason broke free and put his older brother in a headlock, which Charlie quickly escaped and reciprocated. Shaking her head, she put the car in gear. "Goodbye, boys!"

Still wrestling, they both shouted out, "Bye, mom!"

Sighing, she waved and pulled out of the driveway, the picture of her two sons trying to wrestle the other to the driveway in her review mirror.

Charlie finally managed to get a struggling Jason to the ground. Jason sighed in annoyance. "How do you always win?"

Charlie grins. "Because I'm awesome." Charlie stood and offered him a hand up. Rolling his eyes, Jason accepted the help.

Dusting himself off, he asks, "You still taking your nap?"

Charlie's grin suddenly falls, realizing he needed to leave. "Actually, Jason I have to go out for a little while to help, uh, Freddy… study for Mr. Stan's test Tuesday."

Jason looked confused. "Freddy studies?"

Charlie inwardly kicked himself, knowing Jason was right. He didn't think Freddy had ever studied for a test in his life. Outwardly, he just shrugged and smiled. "I know. Surprised me too. But he's my  
buddy, so I said I'd give him a hand."

Jason did not look completely convinced. "Can I come?" he asked.

Charlie held back a groan. He didn't have time to spin an elaborate tale for his brother's sake. "No!"

Jason looked slightly taken-aback, so Charlie tried to keep his voice calmer. "Look, I'll only be gone a few hours, then we can do whatever you want."

Jason narrowed his eyes. "Promise?"

Charlie smiled. He actually did feel bad about leaving. "Yeah, sure. I promise."

Jason finally smiled. "Okay. But I am the boss, the king."

Chuckling, Charlie started heading down their street. "Yeah, sure." He paused as he remembered something. Turning back, he yelled at Jason, who was heading back into the house. "Hey, Jay! Jason  
turned around. "Emma will be over to baby-sit you in a minute!" He grinned at his little brother's pout and moan.

He was walking along the street for barely five seconds after his brother went inside when the unpleasant sensation of being sucked up and jumbled about overcame him. A split second later he found  
himself sitting in the SSJ, Stan piloting. He shook off the strange after-sensation and looked at Stan, annoyed.

Stan seemed either oblivious to this or was choosing to ignore it. "We will reach our destination in fifteen minutes. Mr. Hall is very anxious to talk to you."

He was suddenly very nervous. What could be so bad that Mr. Hall couldn't even tell Stan in a message? He wondered if it had anything to do with his last mission, which was still bothering him. But  
that had been last night. The previous weeks had been relatively quiet as far as take-over-the-world schemes went for the Omega Defiance, so he had no idea what this could be about.

Suddenly the next fourteen minutes seemed too long, and too short.

* * *

**Not much, I know. But I wanted to save the next part because I felt it was a better place to split the chapters. But I promise the next chapter will be up in 2 days, tops. Maybe even by tonight if I can. Hope it wasn't too boring. I know I keep promising excitement. It is coming. :)**

**NinjaPadawan**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm glad to see some people are enjoying this! Sorry about not updating when I said I would. I've decided that I'm not going to make anymore promises about when I will get to post the next part, because then I feel horrible when I'm unable to do so. But to make up for it this part is almost 2x as long as the last part, so I hope you all enjoy. It's a lot of exposition and more setting up the story in the first part, but it gets more exciting toward the end. **

**Thanks for sticking with me, and hope everyone tunes in wednesday night for the new Aaron Stone episode!**

**Disclaimer: own nothing, making no money**

* * *

When Stan and Charlie arrived at Mr. Hall's new hideout, they were greeted by two security personnel and escorted to a large office, overlooking an impressive mountain range, the Alps if Charlie guessed correctly.

He could not help but fidget as they waited for Mr. Hall. Two guards were present in the room with them, and Charlie knew he had seen more outside. He glanced over at Stan, who wore a robotically stoic face. Earlier, he had tried to pull some information out of his android friend, to no avail.

"Psst!" Charlie whispered. "Stan!"

Stan looked over at him. "Yes, Aaron Stone?"

Charlie glanced at the two, armed guards. "You sure you don't know what this is about?"

Stan actually sighed. "As I informed you on the way here, several times, I have not been briefed on the situation and know as much as you do."

"But I don't know anything."

"Precisely."

Charlie sighed in exasperation, sitting back in his seat. Stan shook his head at Charlie's persistence.

Before he could ask Stan anything else, he was interrupted. Mr. Hall entered the office, as usual sticking to his shadows. Charlie was not surprised to see guards with Hall as well, but he was definitely more curious than ever as to what was going on.

Mr. Hall went to his desk and sat down. "That will be all, gentlemen." All four guards quickly and quietly left the room, leaving Charlie an android and the most secretive and elusive man Charlie had ever met.

Mr. Hall folded his hands on the desk in front of him. "Thank you for coming on such short notice, Aaron. I apologize for my tardiness, it has been very busy around here today."

Charlie glanced at the door to the hall, behind which he knew a small army of security waited outside. "Yeah, I noticed the extra security."

Mr. Hall nodded. "Indeed. I promise to tell you all that is going on, but first, I need you to tell me if you noticed anything else at the warehouse with Cerebella and Xero you may have forgotten to tell me."

So it did have something to do with the mission last night, he thought. He racked his brains; going through everything he'd seen or heard do. But he'd already told Mr. Hall everything in his report. After another moment he shook his head, "Sorry, but I told you everything. Do you think they got away with something important after all?"

Mr. Hall shook his head carefully. "There is still no indication that they took anything from that warehouse, but the situation still troubles me. Especially since in the last few weeks we have had similar situations arise, robberies, with nothing of any significance taken."

Charlie frowned, confused. "The last few weeks?" He glanced at Stan, who did not appear surprised. "Why wasn't I called in for any missions?"

Mr. Hall smiled. "Stan here seemed to think you needed a break, and none of the missions required highly-skilled field agents."

Charlie glanced at Stan again, who pretended to look anywhere but at him. Charlie smiled slightly. Maybe the android did understand the human need for sleep.

"Our regular field agents, accompanied by some of our tech specialists were sufficient enough for most of the jobs. Even your friend, Dark Tamara, was called out on a few occasions." Charlie's eyebrows shot-up, wondering why Emma hadn't mentioned any missions. "No Omega Defiance members were ever present that we knew of. Until we went back and checked some footage."

Charlie leaned forward as Mr. Hall pressed a button on his desk, bringing up a video feed on a small monitor. He watched as a blurred figure appeared briefly and then disappeard. As Charlie, watched, the feed zoomed in and the image cleared up to reveal Kronis.

"This is at a research facility for some of the top security organizations in the world," Mr. Hall explained gravely. Charlie glanced up at him. "And this is the only camera he was caught on."

Charlie watched the footage loop, noting Mr. Hall's uneasy tone and fully sharing in the sentiment. "Where is the rest of the footage?"

Mr. Hall pressed another button and the image turned off. "After two minutes the entire system went offline and when it came back on Kronis was gone, along with years of the companies' research as well as a few prototypes."

Charlie sat back in his seat, thinking. "How did Kronis knock out the system if he was the one robbing them?"

"He didn't" Mr. Hall said simply. Charlie looked at him, confused. He watched as Mr. Hall brought up a weather map. "When you told me about Cerebella and Xero I started taking a closer look at each robbery and discovered that in each, only one Omega Defiance member was ever present, however--" he typed a few keys and an image appeared, "—it appears maybe another person was present after all." He indicated the screen. "This is a weather forecasting model above the facility at the time of the robbery."

Charlie frowned and watched as the broadcasting model came up. It was completely clear, but as he watched a small red and yellow blob appeared in the center of the screen and grew until it covered the entire map. Charlie's eyebrows raised to his forehead in understanding and he looked right at Mr. Hall. "Zephyr," Charlie stated knowingly.

Mr. Hall nodded grimly. "I believe so, yes. The storm lasted only a few minutes, but was powerful enough to knockout their entire system. And there are other instances I have looked back on and found what I believe to be indications of other pairs of Omegas in the same place."

Mr. Hall shut down the weather map and turned back to Charlie. "I wanted to update you on the situation since you were the one to bring it to my attention, but I actually called you in for a mission, Aaron."

Charlie sat up at this. He'd been under the impression that this was just an informal meeting. He wasn't even suited up. "Right now?" he asked, surprised.

Mr. Hall nodded. "Unfortunately, this morning one of my top research and development facilities was infiltrated. A large amount of equipment was taken, and though I cannot seem to find any reason for the robbery or connection between the items stolen, it is the most troubling theft as of yet."

He pressed another button and a security feed came up. It was a storage room, though it looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. Everything was white or silver and various recessed compartments lined the walls. Charlie watched as the door at the far end suddenly imploded, sending thick white smoke into the room and causing the camera to fizzle. His eyes narrowed as he saw a silhouette emerge from where the door used to be. The figure cleared the smoke, and Charlie's eyes widened slightly, his jaw clenching.

Elias Powers strode calmly into the storage room, looking much too relaxed for a man in the middle of stealing from a top-secret facility. He glanced around, then his eyes found the camera, and for one moment Charlie locked gazes once again with the man who had become a prominent figure in his nightmares. He got scared on missions. He could admit that. The Omega Defiance threatened his life on a regular basis, but he'd learned to deal with it.

The first time he met Elias Powers, the man had seen right through him, tricked him into letting his guard down. He'd given him a glimpse of Charlie Landers, and Powers had used that to threaten his family. He had been terrified.

Charlie watched, incensed, as Powers smiled, then waved. He was suddenly glad he hadn't suited up, or he might have shot the monitor just to make himself feel better. The image suddenly crackled a few times, and then finally went out, and only static ran across the screen.

Charlie looked at Mr. Hall, who had been watching Charlie the whole time. "I thought you might consider this a second chance to recapture Elias Powers." Charlie knew Mr. Hall still thought it was Charlie's fault Powers escaped, and maybe it was, but he didn't care. He'd saved his brother. He would admit, however, that he was looking forward to making sure Elias Powers was locked-up and could never threaten his family again.

"Is Powers why this theft has taken priority, sir?" Charlie asked. He knew Mr. Hall probably wanted the man behind bars as much as he did, if not more.

"Unfortunately, no." Mr. Hall folded his hands on his desk, wringing them slightly. Charlie may not have been able to read his facial expressions, seeing as he was deep in shadow, but his body language was speaking for him. Mr. Hall actually seemed anxious. Charlie remembered when Mr. Hall had first brought him in, scared and wearing nothing but boxers and a nightshirt. They had been discussing the end of the world, and Mr. Hall had seemed calmer _then_ than he did now.

"Though Powers is a concern, there is a more alarming threat. The facility that was broken into was at one of our most heavily protected and classified locations. It is considered above top secret and there are only four people, including myself, with security code access to that information. They are all trustworthy." Mr. Hall seemed very adamant that no one had betrayed him, but Charlie could not help but think about the story Stan had told him about how Mr. Hall had trusted the Omega Defiance, and paid dearly.

Mr. Hall interrupted his musings. "I know what you must be thinking, Aaron, but I promise you that the three others are not responsible." Charlie was still wary, but Hall went on. "One is Doctor Martin." Charlie tried to hide his dislike for the doctor; still unhappy with the way she had deceived him. "… There are reasons I trust her without a doubt," Mr. hall said pointedly. "The other is your constant companion, and a good friend," he said, indicating Stan. Charlie turned to Stan, who nodded gratefully at Mr. Hall.

Charlie turned back to Mr. Hall, eyebrows raised in curiosity. "And the third?"

Mr. Hall watched him for a second and Charlie fought to resist looking down under the man's scrutiny. He knew Mr. Hall had trust issues, understandably. But it still made him upset and a little nervous that the man still didn't think he could trust him fully. Especially after everything he gave up for Hall Industries. He was disappointed, but not surprised when the man simply told him he was certain that the leak had not come from the final person.

"It would appear that someone has figured out a way to hack into our secure systems, even accessing files classified above top-secret."

"Someone in the Defiance? Like Powers?" Charlie asked, suddenly remembering all the extra security.

Mr. Hall looked uncomfortable. "Possible, but not necessarily. It could have originated inside our operation, which is why we are taking so many precautions, … and it is why I wanted to assure you that we are doing everything to figure out how this information was obtained and making sure it never happens again. There is no need for you to worry."

Charlie believed Mr. Hall was doing everything he could, and judging by the man's tone, he almost felt sorry for whoever had hacked the system. Then the last comment Hall had made caught his attention. "What do you mean?"

Mr. Hall and Stan exchanged a glance. Charlie's eyes narrowed. He stole a glance at Stan, who was looking down guiltily. Mr. Hall sighed and folded his hands together. "Aaron, the location of this base was classified so high because of the potential for the research done there to be weaponized by the Omega Defiance… Hall Industries also keeps personnel information in the same top-secret classification."

Charlie eyes widened slightly. He felt his heart start pounding, not liking where this was going.

"Your information, the true identity of Aaron Stone, was classified in the same database due to the importance of your anonymity."

Charlie gaped at Mr. Hall. The man actually thought he shouldn't worry that the Omega Defiance cold have found out who he really is? That Elias Powers, who'd already promised to find out who he is, wasn't using that information to track down his family this instant? His identity as Charlie Landers was everything. It allowed him to be normal, like he was before Hall Industries tapped him to be their on-call Hero. It allowed him to keep his family safe while he was out fighting the most dangerous people in the world.

Charlie stood up. "Are you saying the Omega Defiance probably knows—". Mr. Hall interrupted. "They don't know, Aaron."

Charlie let out a long breath. He looked hard at Mr. Hall, practically pleading with the older man to give him some sort of assurance that he could still be Charlie Landers, that his mom and Jason were still safe. "Are you _sure_?" he asked, hating that his voice shook.

Mr. Hall leaned forward slightly, which brought his face slightly more into the light. Charlie could actually catch the man's gaze, which was confident. "I am positive they don't know, Aaron."

Charlie took a deep breath and nodded, but remained standing. Mr. Hall went on. "We were able to monitor the outgoing signal. We couldn't gain a location, but we do know it did not come from headquarters and that only a small data bit of information was gained. Now that the facility has been hit, we know what was on that data bit… Charlie Landers is safe, Aaron."

Charlie digested this information, his heartbeat returning to a normal rate. He met Mr. Hall's gaze again and nodded, thankful.

Mr. Hall leaned back in his seat, once again disappearing into the shadows. "Now, are you ready to be briefed on the mission, Aaron Stone? We have already wasted crucial time."

Charlie squared his shoulders and stood a little straighter. He'd worry about how close he'd come to risking his entire family later. Now he had a job to do, and he felt more ready and willing to go after the Omega Defiance than he ever had before.

A new image appeared on Hall's monitor. Charlie studied it. It looked like a map, with one small, blinking dot. "Several pieces of equipment were stolen by Powers and his accomplices. One is still transmitting a location."

He typed a few keys and the image zoomed in on the blinking dot. He and Stan leaned forward to get a closer look. "Where is that?" Charlie asked. He couldn't seem to find and roads or distinguishing marks on the map.

Mr. Hall sounded grim. " It is halfway up a mountain in the middle of a small village. It is very close to where we are now."

Charlie knew why Mr. Hall sounded unhappy. That beacon wasn't left on by accident. "It's a trap." It wasn't a question

Mr. Hall nodded. "Most likely. However, the device must be recovered and perhaps we will learn something important about what the Omega Defiance is up to."

Charlie nodded. He had a bad feeling about this, but figured it was because he was knowingly walking into an ambush. But Mr. Hall was right. Something was going on, something the Omega Defiance was going out of their way to keep secret, and Charlie intended to figure out exactly what it was.

* * *

Charlie and Stan walked warily into the small village. It was halfway up a mountain and hugged a ridge overlooking what would have been a breathtaking sight in any different situation. Charlie let out a tense breath, visible in the freezing air. Snow was falling in steady sheets, and a light dusting already covered the ground and surrounding buildings. He glanced at Stan, who looked as apprehensive as he felt. They nodded at each other and Charlie put his left arm over his gauntlet, ready to fire at a moment's notice.

Cautiously, they entered into what looked to be the middle of the village, marked by a small statue. There was no one in sight. He listened carefully, but could hear only the snow as it lightly rained down and the slight howl of wind coming around the mountain. The whole situation was incredibly eerie and Charlie felt a chill go up his spine. He felt like he was in one of those horror flicks Jason always made him watch. He swore he'd seen this particular movie, and any minute now the monster who ate all the villagers was going to run out and devour him.

A sudden clatter made him jerk and he whipped around, raising his gauntlet, then just as quickly lowering it. A window slammed shut, but he had seen the small child and man behind it. He let out a small, amused huff. No more D-horror flicks for him. He looked at Stan, who looked as startled as he did. "They're scared," he said, stating the obvious.

Stan nodded. "But of whom?"

Charlie nodded. He had a feeling he didn't want to find out, but they had a mission. He thought he saw something through the snow and squinted. Sure enough, a large crate with the logo for Hall industries sat a short distance from the statue, completely in the open. Oh yeah, Charlie thought, glancing around warily, definitely a trap. He tapped Stan on the shoulder, indicating the crate. Stan nodded and they both approached it cautiously.

While Stan bent to examine it, Charlie raised his gauntlet, covering the android and watching for the imminent ambush. Stan scanned the outside, and finding nothing, slowly lifted the lid. Charlie turned to look, but the sound of crunching snow made him look back toward a gap between two houses.

Elias Powers, wearing a black jumpsuit and large backpack, walked casually toward him. Raising his gauntlet, he fired a shot. Powers ducked, falling to the ground and pulled something off his belt, holding it up above him. Charlie prepared to fire again, but Powers' cold voice stopped him.

"Shoot me and this whole place will slide down the mountain," he yelled. He'd rigged a bomb. Charlie gritted his teeth but didn't fire. He also didn't lower his gauntlet.

Smirking, Powers slowly stood up, dusting snow off himself while the other hand held out the small device, which looked like a remote.

"Hello, Aaron." Charlie didn't answer, just kept his weapon trained on the evil man. Elias smiled. "I'm very glad to see you again. Did you get my message?"

Charlie couldn't believe it. Powers sounded more like he was asking if he'd received a birthday card, rather than the threat he'd gotten after the mad man had escaped. "Drop the remote, Powers."

He merely kept the same, thin smile on his face he seemed to wear all the time. It was like a perpetual smirk he wore because he thought he was smarter than everyone around him. "I wonder, Aaron… how often have you thought about me, because I have thought about nothing but you for so long," Elias chuckled, shaking his head, " and how I am going to find you… and end you." Powers' smile disappeared after his last sentence, and he glared with hatred at Charlie.

Gulping and trying to hide his discomfort, Charlie tightened his gauntlet arm. "Well, you found me. So how about you put that down and you and I settle this, huh?"

Powers' smirk was back and he gazed hard at Charlie for a few moments. "No, he finally said calmly, "I haven't. Not yet." Before Charlie could ponder his odd statement, Powers took off the way he had come, darting behind a home and taking off toward the edge of the ridge. Charlie ran after him, refusing to let the man escape a second time. He didn't understand it, Powers was headed for the edge, with nowhere to go.

Right before he reached the edge Powers slid to a halt, turning, the remote held up, reminding Charlie why he couldn't shoot.

"Drop the remote, Powers!" he repeated.

Powers sighed. "I'm afraid I can't do that. I have somewhere to go." Charlie took an angry step forward. "The only place you are going to is back to your cell!"

Charlie became even more angry as Elias chuckled and shook his head. "You have nowhere to go!" he bit out, sick of whatever game the man was trying to play.

With his free hand, Powers reached up and pulled at something on his shoulder strap. What had appeared to be a mere mountain pack transformed into a liquid fabric that poured out then hardened, creating a long, shell-like contraption that covered Powers from his shoulders to his knees.

Charlie leaped forward, knowing he was about to attempt an escape, but Powers threw the remote, and Charlie quickly changed direction to lunge at the device as it tumbled through the air. He fell forward, catching the remote safely, the switch still not activated, as he crashed into the snow.

Without anytime to sigh in relief, he turned toward where Powers was still standing on the ledge. The man threw one last smirk toward him, lowering goggles onto his face. "Say hello to your little brother for me."

Charlie's eyes narrowed in white-hot anger and he jumped to his feet with an angry cry, raising his gauntlet. Too late. Powers had jumped off the ledge. He raced to the edge and watched as the man careened down the hill on his back, the shell acting as a kind of sled as he flew down at a dangerous speed. He finally stopped, too far away for his weapon's range, and got into a small ship that had been camouflaged. Charlie recognized it as the SSJ he'd crashed and Kronis had refurbished. He watched as Elias Powers got away, again.

He was breathing heavily, though whether from exertion or anger he wasn't sure anymore. He tried not to think about what Powers had said to him. He knew the man was trying to make him scared. Unfortunately, it was working. And what had been the point of this whole encounter? Powers had set a trap, but hadn't caught anything. In fact, he was almost caught himself. So what was the point?

"Did you get him, Aaron Stone?"

Charlie turned to find Stan running up awkwardly behind him. Charlie glared at him for asking such a stupid question. "No, Stan, I didn't get him," he said testily. He suddenly realized Stan hadn't been right behind him like he expected. "And where were you anyway?"

Stan looked at him, confused. "I followed you after you took off in pursuit." He looked around, obviously realizing he was missing something.

"What took you so long?"

Stan looked behind him, seemingly very perplexed. "I must have gotten turned around. Or perhaps this snow is affecting my servos."

Charlie looked at him oddly. Stan had been acting off for a while. He decided he needed to ask him about it. "Look, Stan. Are you feeling okay?" Stan looked at him oddly, confused. "Feeling?" he asked.

Charlie shrugged. "Do you feel sick? Or I guess… broken in any way?" Stan actually seemed to give it some thought.

"Now that you mention it I have felt like some of my circuits are running slower than usual." He gestured to certain parts of his android body. "I have also noticed some overheating in some of my—"

"Okay—too much information. Sounds like you could use a check-up. How about we get Emma to help you run a full diagnostics when we get back home?" he didn't want to know about the androids odd robot parts malfunctioning.

Stan smiled and nodded.

"Great. Now let's get off this mountain, I'm freezing."

* **********

By the time Charlie got back home it was dark and very late. He'd been gone a lot longer than the few hours he'd promised Jason and was not looking forward to facing a disappointed little brother. He entered the house and heard the TV. He headed into the living room and saw Emma sitting, headphones on and reading a magazine. He didn't see Jason anywhere.

"Emma."

She didn't hear him so he walked up and tapped her on the head. She growled and pulled off her headphones. "Jason, for the last time, I will—," she stopped as she saw it was Charlie and let out a long, relieved groan. "Oh, thank you!" She stood up and started packing up her stuff. "How'd the mission go? You can tell me about it later. I--."

"Emma?" Charlie asked carefully, aware she hated being used as a babysitter and probably wasn't very happy with him right now. She looked at him, expectant. "Where's Jason?"

Emma rolled her eyes. "In your room playing Hero Rising. Said if you were going to stay over at a friend's house all night he was going to do whatever he wanted to… blahblahblah. Just a bunch of other angsty teen ramblings"

Charlie winced. "So he was pretty angry, huh?"

Emma raised an eyebrow. "_I_ was pretty angry. It's Friday night and I'm stuck here babysitting." She got up in his personal space and poked a finger into his chest. " I have a black belt, a ridiculously high IQ, and I'm a technical and weapons expert. I don't baby-sit."

Charlie smiled and took a step back, thinking of his own safety as he backed away. "Speaking of technical experts," he said, trying to change the subject. "Stan has been having some problems and needs you to run a full diagnostics. Please?" he added sweetly.

Emma narrowed her eyes, and then shook her head in exasperation. "Why not? My Friday is already ruined anyway." With that, she took off toward Stan's room grumbling to herself. Charlie smiled slightly. He always knew he could count on Emma, even if sometimes asking means risking his health. He knew she probably had all sorts of weapons hidden in her room that would really hurt. He cringed even thinking about it.

He headed for the stairs, taking them two at a time. He could heard hero rising playing through his closed door, but was surprised at the lack of trash talk, or talking period, that usually accompanied the game when Jason was playing. He pushed open the door and stepped inside. Jason was playing the game, but he was sitting perfectly still, only moving his fingers to manipulate the controller. He walked around so he could see his brother's face. Yep, he thought with and internal wince, definitely mad.

His little brother could be very stubborn if you made him angry enough. Though usually loud and obnoxious, you always knew when he was upset because he didn't make a sound. He would just clam up.

"Hey, Jay," Charlie tried. He got no answer, only a slight twitch in his brother's jaw that told Charlie his brother knew he was here, and he wasn't happy with him.

He went and sat down in the game chair next to Jason. "Look," he began, hoping his lie would pass, "I'm sorry I took so long. You know Freddy… he's hopeless when it comes to anything not directly related to skateboarding or biking." He chuckled, but stopped when it became apparent Jason was not amused.

Sighing he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and watching the game as Jason's avatar fought off Zephyr's ninjas. He sighed. He never could escape the game.

He decided to try something else. "Jay-man. I lied." Jason did nothing so he went on. "Freddy didn't need help studying for a test. I went out because… well I have a friend, you don't know him, and he needed help." It wasn't the whole truth, but it was closer than all the lies he was always feeding his brother. He was just so sick of lying to him.

"I can't tell you why, but I want you to know it was really important. I wouldn't have stayed so long if it weren't, man." He didn't know what Jason was doing, he was still watching the game, but he noticed a few ninjas get some good hits in on Terminus Mag. "I just wanted to let you know I didn't mean to ditch you tonight."

He waited, but it seemed Jason felt like holding a grudge tonight, not that Charlie could blame him. He was about to stand up when his brother finally spoke.

"Want to play?"

Charlie glanced back at Jason, who still didn't look happy, but at least he was talking to him. He smiled, grateful for the peace offering and took it. "Yeah, man." He grabbed a controller and entered the game. He was tired and just wanted to collapse in bed, but he could stay up a little longer to play a few games with his brother.

"I knew Freddy didn't study."

Charlie found himself cracking up at Jason's statement. He looked over while laughing to see that Jason was trying not to grin and knew he'd been forgiven.

Emma came up a few minutes later to tell me that she was done looking at the "thing" he'd asked about and would have the results for him in the morning. He and Jason had said goodnight and then gotten back to their game. They continued playing for almost an hour before Charlie noticed Jason beginning to look sleepy. He turned off the game and they both got ready for bed. He was out the moment he hit his bed, finally able to sleep and forget about hero Rising, the Omega Defiance, and Elias Powers.

* * *

He didn't know what exactly had woken him, but he knew something had made him jump. Groggy, Charlie rolled over slowly, trying to think despite the fact he still felt half-asleep. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He didn't hear any sounds in the house. Deciding he had lost it, he closed his eyes, intending to get back to sleep, when a piercing scream had him jerking back awake.

Startled, he jumped out of bed, falling over as the covers tangled around his legs. As he was getting up the door to his room flung open and Jason rushed in, pale and terrified. "Jay, you okay?" Charlie asked, panicked.

Jason looked at him, frowning. "That wasn't me!"

They both jumped as another yell was heard. Now completely awake, Charlie recognized the voice. "Emma," he breathed. Together, he and Jason ran to his window, flinging back the curtains and pulling up the window.

Emma's bedroom was on fire, the whole side of the house practically in flames. He stared in horror for a moment before turning around and looking for something. He saw what he was looking for, a bat, and grabbed it, returning to the window.

He started to climb out and onto the roof when Jason grabbed his arm and pulled him back inside. "What are you doing?!" he yelled. Charlie looked and saw that he was still white and scared. He gripped his shoulders, looking right at him. "Call 911. I'll be right back, I have to get Emma." His brother's eyes were huge, but he didn't have time to worry about Jason right now. Only a small section of Emma's roof was not on fire and he had to go now if he was going to make it.

Stan suddenly burst through his bedroom door. "I've called the proper authorities. They're already on their way."

He climbs back through the window, not waiting to hear anything else. He took a deep breath then ran and leaped, not hearing Jason yell his name. He landed dangerously close to the flames and scrambled back, rising to his feet unsteadily. Turning to the window, he brought his bat up and swung. It took two hard hits, but the window broke, sending smoke out into the night sky. Without hesitating he leaped into the room.

There was so much smoke he could barely see anything. "Emma!" he yelled, then quickly dissolved into a coughing fit. He dropped to the floor, trying to remember what he'd been taught. He crawled forward, calling out for Emma.

Suddenly someone was tying a piece of cloth around his face. He struggled for a moment before realizing it was Emma, trying to shield him from the smoke. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back the way he had come. They both reached the window in time to see the roof below it collapse from the flames.

This time it was Emma who led him back through the room to her door, He tried the handle but noticed it wouldn't budge. The lock looked mangled and melted. They were stuck. Emma dragged him toward one of her walls, where a painting was mounted. She grabbed his bat and then pointed to the picture.

Charlie understood and with a giant swing, shattered the painting. He doubled over in a coughing fit as Emma moved forward and grabbed at something pulling away to reveal a small ray gun. They went back to the door and she pointed it at the lock. Charlie backed up slightly, knowing that even Emma's little guns packed a punch. He was smart. The door splintered all over, some of the pieces still managing to catch him, stinging as they cut.

Both of them coughing and dizzy from the heat and smoke, they made their way out of her bedroom, walking carefully but quickly down the flaming hallway. Emma fell down once, but Charlie still had her hand and hoisted her up. They made it down the stairs, only stumbling a few times and ran right into two large firemen.

They lost their grip on one another as each fire fighter grabbed one of them, acting as supports as they quickly made it outside. The minute they hit the fresh night air Charlie tried to take a large breath, resulting in another coughing fit. Well that didn't help, he thought. He could feel tears streaming down his face caused by the smoke. The fireman placed him on the grass, sitting up, and the next thing he knew an oxygen mask was placed over his nose and mouth. He knew it would help, but he still tried to push it away. Everything was happening so fast, he couldn't think straight.

"Charlie!"

He looked up at the sound of his name and saw Jason rushing toward him. He watched as his brother dropped to his knees beside him. He looked scared and Charlie tried to say something reassuring, but he just started coughing again. Jason reached out and gripped his shoulder. Charlie grabbed his arm and held on, wishing he could catch his breath, but grateful for the support.

He grabbed the mask away from the medic and took a few long breaths, trying to calm his breathing. As the medic moved to his other side he finally got a glimpse of Emma, in a similar position, but flanked by both her frantic parents. She looked up and met his questioning gaze. She nodded and raised an eyebrow. He nodded, smiling through the mask.

Stan suddenly appeared, talking to one of the medics. They both nodded and then Stan came and squatted in front of both boys. "As long as you breath through that for at least a half-hour they said you can go home. Are you alright?"

Deciding it was better not to talk, Charlie merely nodded. Stan looked unsure for a moment, but finally decided to go check on Emma and her parents.

Realizing he was still gripping his little brother's arm tightly, he let go, throwing an apologetic look at him. He jerked his head toward the house, trying to indicate he should go wait inside. It was freezing tonight.

Jason merely released the grip on his shoulder and crawled over in front of Charlie, sitting down and facing him. Charlie watched him play with the grass as he concentrated on breathing in and out through the mask. Finally, his little bro looked up at him, gazing at him for a few long moments.

"That was really stupid, Charlie."

Charlie figured he couldn't deny that, so he shrugged.

"Pretty awesome, but stupid." The last bit was mumbled and hard to hear but he caught it, and smiled.

"You sure you're okay?" Jason asked quietly. Charlie realized his brother still looked as pale as he had when he ran into his bedroom, if not more so.

He couldn't talk without coughing, so he smiled and held up a fist. Jason looked at him a moment, then brought up his own clasped fist and bumped against his, a shaky smile finally coming through.

* * *

**So there you go. Hope you all enjoyed it and sorry again it is so late. I feel awful. I'm excited though, because we are starting to really get into the meat of the story and I have a lot of that written already! So, no promises, but I will try to be prompt, college allowing. :)**

**Let me know what you guys think! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey Everyone! I have an update for you all! Yay! **

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! Everyone has been so nice and encouraging and I really appreciate it and am glad to hear people are enjoying this. And thank you to just everyone in general who is reading and keeping up with this fanfic. I know I am not the most prompt updater, but I am trying my best. College is crazy right now. **

**Hope you all enjoy this addition. It is extra long and I hope that helps make up for all the time I made you wait. :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Aaron Stone or make any money off this**

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* * *

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Charlie descended the stairs jerkily, his legs tiredly having to search for each stair since his eyes refused to remain open. Through mere slits, he navigated into the kitchen, where he proceeded to head directly for the fridge. He took out the carton of orange juice and tipped it back, taking several long gulps. He was too tired to bother to find a clean cup. Besides, mom wasn't there to get on to him.

With a satisfied sigh, he screwed the lid back on the carton and put it away. Wiping an arm across his mouth, he looked through the fridge, his growling stomach reminding him why he had even bothered to pull himself out of bed.

He saw some leftovers from a few nights ago and shrugged to himself. One whiff of what he thought was lasagna had him gagging and he quickly went to dispose of the offensive goo, stuffing it down the garbage disposal. He wrinkled his nose and tried not breath as he flipped the switch and let the sink eat it.

He happened to glance up at the clock on the microwave and was a little surprised to find that it was almost noon. No wonder his aching stomach had woken him up. He hadn't eaten since lunch the day before and now it was Saturday and lunchtime.

He was about to go back and search for something that wasn't growing fuzz when Jason came into the kitchen, yawning and rubbing his eyes sleepily, looking even more tired than Charlie. "Good Afternoon," Charlie greeted.

Jason glanced at the clock, but seemed unconcerned. Sleeping-in was normal for Jason. Without returning the greeting, Jason came up to the kitchen island and collapsed into a stool, using an arm to prop up his head. He stared at Charlie through half-lidded eyes and he couldn't help but notice the dark circles under his little brother's eyes.

"Trouble sleeping?" he asked, surprised. Jason usually slept like a log and always woke up as exuberant, or annoying as he liked to say, as ever.

Jason yawned but then shook his head. "Not really." Jason didn't offer anything else and Charlie didn't know what to say. His brother was absently pushing around the apples in the fruit bowl, not meeting his gaze.

Charlie supposed his brother was still tired since they'd both gotten to bed very late. After making sure Emma and her family were okay and had a place to stay, they had decided to call their mom, before she heard about the fire from someone else. After assuring her they were both fine and convincing her there was no need for her to fly back, they'd been so tired there hadn't been time to talk or say anything. They both just fell into exhausted sleep.

He was about to say something about last night when his stomach growled; reminding him he had yet to find something edible.

Jason sat up, smirking, and folded his hands in front of him, looking up at Charlie expectantly. "So…what's for breakfast?"

Charlie raised a brow and gave Jason an odd look, glancing once again at the clock. "You mean lunch?" he asked.

Jason looked genuinely confused. "But we haven't eaten breakfast yet," he stated matter-of-factly.

Charlie continued to look at his little brother oddly. "Uhhh, Jay," he started, indicating the clock on the microwave. "It's lunchtime."

Jason frowned at Charlie like he was an idiot. "There is no specific "time", Charlie," he said, making sure to emphasize his air quotes. "The "time" just stands for any "time" after breakfast. Just like dinner-"time" means anytime after lunch." Jason's hands remained in front of him throughout his entire explanation, adding in air quotes when necessary.

Charlie's eyes were narrowed in concentration as he watched Jason, trying to follow his logic. He considered for a moment, and then asked the questioned that begged an answer. "So what does breakfast mean?"

Jason thought for a minute. "Must be eaten first."

Charlie held up his hands in surrender, knowing he would be subjected to more Jason logic if he continued to ask. And honestly, he thought breakfast sounded pretty good. "Fine, so what do you want for breakfast?"

Jason smiled and leaned forward animatedly. "Pancakes." Charlie shrugged and went to see if they had some mix. "And sausage. Oh… and bacon, too." Charlie pulled out a couple of boxes and brought them back to the counter. "And maybe some eggs? Scrambled sounds good." Jason sounded more like he was talking to himself than to him.

Charlie set the boxes down, watching Jason, both eyebrows raised. "Hungry?" he asked, smiling. A loud gurgle drew his hand to his stomach in surprise. Jason smirked. "I'm not the only one."

Knowing it was true he looked back at the boxes. One was for pancakes, the other waffles. Charlie had never really understood what the difference was. He picked up the waffle mix, frowning in thought. "Hey, what did Mom do with Dad's waffle iron?" he asked, realizing he hadn't seen it in a while.

Jason's smile fell and he bit his lip, shrugging. Dad had always made them waffles on the weekends. And they didn't really talk about Dad.

"Pancakes it is." Charlie quickly and quietly replaced the waffle mix in the pantry and went back to the refrigerator. He glanced briefly back at Jason, who was once again fiddling with the fruit bowl.

He bit his cheek as he rifled through the refrigerator, grabbing at various items. He hated that the subject of their dad had become such a taboo subject between them. He could talk to his mom about dad. She would look sad at first, but she always smiled and even seemed to enjoy talking about him. He knew Jason also went to their mom on occasion to talk about him. He'd overheard her comforting his brother a few months ago and had quickly turned around, not wanting to interrupt incase Jason was upset. But for some reason, after the funeral he and Jason hadn't talked about their dad with each other even once. It had been weird at first, resulting in a lot of deafening silences. But as their now smaller family got back into a routine, it got easier and just became normal for them.

And now he'd gone and accidentally brought _him_ up. It was getting easier for Charlie to think about dad and talk about him, but obviously he'd upset Jason. He could've kicked himself. Grabbing the last item, a carton of eggs, he hoisted the large pile up and started toward Jason.

He brought everything over to the island and dropped it right in front of his brother, amused when Jason jumped, startled. He watched as his brother's eyes widened a little at all the food now strewn across the counter. Sausage links, bacon, eggs, and biscuits lay together with the pancake mix. Smirking at Jason's obvious surprise that he was going along with his breakfast scheme, he pushed the pancake mix towards Jason. "You're in charge of the pancakes."

Jason just watched him for a moment, then finally looked at the back of the mix and frowned. "What's vegetable oil?" He looked up at Charlie, who stared back. "Is it like olive oil or something?"

Still staring, Charlie reached out and pulled the box back towards himself. He shoved the carton of eggs forward. "Why don't you be in charge of the eggs?"

Jason grabbed the cartoon and shrugged. "Cool." He stood and headed to the stove. Charlie got to work on the pancakes and then threw the bacon and sausage in a large frying pan as well. Soon, they had a huge breakfast cooking, in the middle of the day.

Thinking to himself, Charlie suddenly turned to Jason, curious. "By the way… what does snack-_time_ mean?"

Jason turned to him and smiled. "Any "time" at all." They both grinned and bumped fists.

* * *

All in all, their huge breakfast extravaganza was a success. Jason had trouble cracking the eggs, making a runny mess and making them a little extra crunchy; they both were attacked by hot bacon grease, and the pancakes, thanks to a sneaky Jason, had more chocolate chips in them than batter.

The kitchen looked like a storm had gone through it: dripping egg-shells littered a whole counter, random piles of batter that missed the skillet were all over the stove top, and chocolate chips littered the floor, casualties in the impromptu chip war Charlie and Jason had found themselves in. Dirty dishes were piled a mile high in the filthy sink and a few of Charlie's attempts to perform a more elaborate pancake flip still lay on the floor.

When they finally sat down to eat, the pancakes were runny in the middle, the bacon burnt, and the eggs dry. But Charlie ate every bite. Jason ate even more, everything flowing with thick maple syrup and chocolate sauce. They both laughed and talked, just enjoying each other's company. Charlie was surprised at how much he enjoyed himself.

"Uhgg," Charlie groaned, clutching his stomach. "If I eat another bite I will explode." Jason grinned between a mouthful of pancakes and eggs, causing Charlie to grimace. His little brother's stomach was a bottomless pit.

"Hello! Charlie?" Charlie turned as he heard the voice, looking toward the living room as Emma appeared and entered the kitchen. She grinned, walking toward them.

"Hey, guys! What's …. Wow." She said, slowing to a halt when she caught sight of the kitchen. Emma looked at him, her eyes wide and confused. "I thought my house was the one trashed last night?" she said. Charlie glanced at the kitchen with a frown, then at Jason. His brother's mouth was full but he looked at Charlie and shrugged.

Emma suddenly sniffed the air. "It even smells like my house. What's burning?"

Jason finished swallowing his mouthful and held out a piece of extra-crispy bacon to Emma. "Want some?" he asked.

Emma tried to smile politely, staring at the bacon with distaste. "No thanks. My parents and I ate before coming back to the house." Still smiling thinly, she turned back to Charlie. "Umm, Charlie… can I talk to you for a minute?" He nodded and she quickly escaped the kitchen as Jason offered up a gooey pancake.

Charlie asked Jason to start cleaning and followed Emma into the living room. "You okay?" he asked. They hadn't really had time to talk much last night.

Emma smiled slightly. "Yeah, I'm good. You?"

He nodded. "How about your room?" he asked carefully, cringing since he knew the answer. Emma made a face. "That bad, huh?" he said in sympathy.

Emma shrugged. "Most of it's replaceable, I guess. But the fire also got my newest prototype: the De-Atomizing Annihilator" She pouted slightly, and Charlie had to fight not to smile. That would be what Emma was most upset about. With a name like that, he was kind of glad that particular weapon had been destroyed.

"What about the rest of your… stuff?" he asked, realizing that she had a lot of other devices for Hall Industries stored in her room. She waved a hand, unconcerned. "Just finished removing the last of it. Hope you don't mind, but I stashed a bunch of it in your bedroom," She looked smug as she said this.

Charlie wasn't surprised. He'd long ago given up trying to keep Emma from randomly popping into his room. Locking his window hadn't even worked. So he merely rolled his eyes. "Sure, having a few dangerous weapons hidden in my room doesn't bother me at all."

"Good." She said cheerfully. Charlie rolled his eyes, but was smiling. He noticed Emma glance toward the kitchen and he frowned slightly at how her expression had suddenly become nervous.

He narrowed his eyes. "What?" he asked seriously.

Emma looked at him and lowered her voice. "The firefighters found out where the fire originated and they're calling it some freak electrical surge."

Charlie frowned knowingly. "What was it really?"

Emma looked straight at him, and she looked scared. "Charlie, there was someone in my room last night. A person set that fire."

Charlie just looked at her, shocked. "You're sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," she exclaimed. "I woke up in time to see some creepo fry my laptop and throw something at my bedroom door! Next thing I know it exploded and my room was burning up."

Charlie was now growing nervous as well. "Did you get a good look him?" he asked quickly. Emma sighed and shook her head. "No. The dude was wearing a dark tracksuit and had the hood pulled up. He jumped out my window and then I heard another small pop and my roof was on fire."

Charlie bit his lip, thinking. "You said he was on your laptop, right? Was there something on there someone might want to steal?"

Emma threw her hands up in exasperation. "Maybe. But then why did he destroy it?" She slumped her shoulders. "None of it makes any sense."

Charlie agreed but said nothing. He was worried. Someone had broken into Emma's room for a reason, and he had a feeling it had something to do with the fact that she works for Hall Industries. And if someone knew where Emma lived and that she worked for Mr. Hall…

"I need to contact Mr. Hall," he announced suddenly. Emma sighed and smiled knowingly at him. "I already did. He said he'd contact you through Hero Rising at 2:00."

Charlie wished it were sooner, but nodded gratefully and turned to go help Jason clean up. He started to tell Emma goodbye, but paused. He looked at her, curiously frowning. "What was on your computer?"

Emma stuck her bottom lip out slightly, once again in mourning. "My _life_," she whined.

"But what was the last thing you were working on?" he asked quickly. He was too worried to be sympathetic.

Emma squinted in thought. "Nothing," she said, shrugging. "The last thing I had used it for was Stan's diagnostics check-up. Which reminds me… I'll have to do that again later. I never got to read the results."

Charlie just looked at her, a troubled expression on his face. For some reason what she had just said really bothered him, and he felt like he was missing something big that was right in front of him. It was so frustrating.

"Charlie?" Emma asked carefully.

Charlie shook himself out of his reverie. He looked at Emma and was about to say something when Jason came in, carrying a large plate filled with the remains of their breakfast. He offered it to Emma. "For the lady," he said gentlemanly.

Emma stared at it in what could only be described as horror and Charlie found himself biting his cheek so he wouldn't laugh. "I'm not hungry," she said quickly. "Not at all."

Jason looked disappointed for a moment, and then brightened, as an idea seemed to strike him. "Maybe your parents are hungry!" he blurted out excitedly. As he headed to the door, despite Emma's protests, he leaned toward Charlie, whispering. "I got to make a good impression on her folks,"

Charlie managed not to laugh and gave his brother an encouraging slap on the back as he went by. Emma glared at him but he just shrugged, smiling. "I better go save my parents," she said as she left to follow Jason.

Still grinning, Charlie turned to go back into the kitchen, stopping as he takes in the sheer catastrophe it has become. He looked around and then put his hands on his hips. He sighed. "Jason did… nothing," he said to himself, not really surprised.

He looked at it for another moment and then turned around, heading to Stan's room. They could worry about the kitchen later. Now he wanted to find out everything he could about last night. Mr. Hall wouldn't be contacting him for another half-hour at least, so he was hoping the android knew something. He reached the guest bedroom and knocked. "Stan!" he called. He knocked again, impatient. "Hey, Stan!" Still, there was no answer. Charlie frowned and reached for the handle, turning it slowly. He peaked his head inside, but saw no sign of the android anywhere. The room was empty.

Charlie shut the door and headed back into the living room, thinking maybe he'd missed the android. Nothing. He called for Stan again, but received no answer. Frowning, he headed upstairs to his own bedroom. Maybe Stan was waiting for Mr. Hall's call as well, he thought. He wasn't. Just as he was about to give up he heard the front door slam and the sounds of footsteps. He hurried back downstairs and saw Jason in the kitchen placing the untouched plate of breakfast food back on the counter.

"Have you seen Stan?" he asked.

Jason's brow was furrowed. "Yeah, man. He just came in when I did," he said, indicating behind him. He lowered his voice and leaned toward Charlie. "Get this-- He was in his exercise clothes; said he went for a 50 mile run." Jason scoffed as he said this, shaking his head in amusement. "He wasn't even sweaty. Sometimes he is just so…" Jason made a motion near his head. Charlie just looked at him. Jason held up his hands. "Just saying."

Charlie moved to leave and go find Stan, but Jason stopped him. "Hey, want to go to the BMX track later?" he asked hopefully. Charlie thought about it. They hadn't been in a while and it sounded like fun. He smiled at Jase. "Yeah, just give me, like, a half-hour and then we can leave."

Jason smiled and nodded happily, then frowned suddenly as he looked around the kitchen. "What about…" he indicated the kitchen with a flourish of his arm. Charlie looked at the mess for a moment then turned to Jason, and smirked slightly. "As long as we clean it before mom gets home…" Jason grinned and darted out of the room, presumably to get his gear.

Shaking his head, Charlie headed back to Stan's room and knocked. Stan immediately answered the door. "Good morning, Charlie," he said cheerfully. Jason was right. Stan was wearing a dark tracksuit but didn't have a drop of sweat, not that he thought androids could sweat.

"What's with the early morning jog?" he asked curiously.

Stan smiled. "It helps me feel invigorated," he said wistfully. Charlie looked at him oddly. "Plus it is good for my servos to keep in shape."

"Oh." Charlie didn't really know what to say to any of that. "Well… Mr. Hall will be contacting us upstairs at 2:00."

Stan nodded. "I will just change and be up as soon as I can." Charlie nodded and smiled, throwing a glance over his shoulder as he walked away. He had a thought, but dismissed it as impossible. His servos need to keep in shape? That was kind of weird.

* * *

Charlie fidgeted as he sat in front of the TV in his room, waiting for Mr. Hall to come online and tell him what was going on. He glanced at the clock. Five minutes until Mr. Hall was supposed to call. The waiting was agony.

He kept telling himself that Mr. Hall would have already gotten a hold of him if there were any possibility that the Omega Defiance had figured out who he was. He held on to that small assurance as he worked through all the strange occurrences that had gone on in the last couple of days, and he couldn't believe it had only been that long.

The random team-ups between Omega members, the ambiguous robberies, the mysterious arson in Emma's bedroom last night: none of it made any sense to Charlie. Obviously, the Omega Defiance was up to something, and he could bet whatever it was spelled trouble for the world. But they weren't going about their schemes as they usually would. The Omega Defiance didn't usually care about being overly sneaky and cautious. They were too arrogant for that. They knew Mr. Hall constantly had Hall Industries resources focused on finding them and thwarting their nefarious schemes. But they had run Hall out before and put him into hiding, and that had made them over-confident.

Charlie knew that he had been getting to them, if the many threats against Aaron Stone were anything to go by. He was just worried at the sudden shift in their methods of operation; And by the fact that they seemed organized and were working together instead of making individual attempts at world domination. Individually, each Omega was difficult enough for Aaron Stone. He shuddered at the thought of facing a united seven Omegas.

Despite those disheartening thoughts, Charlie knew that was not what was bothering him the most. Since yesterday, his encounter with the mysterious Elias Powers had been hanging over him like a dark storm cloud. Powers had wanted him up on the mountain for a reason; it had been a blatant set-up, an obvious trap. So why, Charlie thought, had Powers simply run away? The man had sent him a threatening message after he first escaped, saying he would find him and destroy him, yet the first time they cross paths again he runs. And what Elias Powers had said to him in the snowy mountain village still perplexed him.

He was brought out of his thoughts when a small beep sounded, signaling an incoming message. Charlie whipped his head around to look at the time, surprised to find the five minutes had gone by so quickly. Mr. Hall was calling, but where was Stan? Figuring he would be hear any moment, Charlie accepted the connection and placed his headphones on. Mr. Hall, in shadows, appeared on his screen.

"Hello, Aaron," Mr. Hall's greeted in his usual somber tone. "Dark Tamara updated me on her situation this morning. She said you were very instrumental in helping her escape. Well done."

Charlie shrugged, uncomfortable. He knew he really hadn't done much. Emma had pretty much had everything under control when he broke through her window. He was more interested in what Mr. Hall knew. "Do you know anything about the intruder?"

He couldn't see Mr. Hall's face very well, but the man sat up a little, leaning forward. "I know you are still concerned about the Omega's having figured out who you are, but I assure you, as far as our experts can tell, the personnel files have not been compromised."

Charlie really wished the man were able to be more reassuring.

"Where is S.T.A.N.?" Mr. Hall suddenly asked. Charlie glanced toward the hallway, and then realized this might be the perfect time to tell Mr. Hall that the android had a few glitches. Before he could say anything, his door opened and Stan entered, looking sheepish.

"I apologize," he said, addressing Mr. Hall. "I was held up by Aaron's brother, Jason. But I took care of it," he stated confidently. Charlie glanced at him oddly.

Mr. Hall made no comment, once again addressing Charlie. "I do not know if the intruder last night was affiliated in any way with the Omega Defiance; however, I am sending a small team to watch your house. There was another attack on our system last night, not long after you returned from your mission, and we are not sure what information was taken."

Charlie's eyes widened and he leaned forward, aghast. "How can you not know?" he demanded. "Last time you were able to see exactly where the hack happened."

Mr. Hall held up a hand, halting any further questions. "This hack was much more sophisticated. Whoever is doing this is learning how to better get around our system each time."

Great, Charlie thought sarcastically. "Then how do you—"

Mr. Hall interrupted. "The personnel files are protected by several firewalls, and there is no evidence any were fractured." Charlie leaned back a little, trying to calm down.

"You do not need to worry about them figuring out your whereabouts, Aaron. After the latest hack, I destroyed every file pertaining to you in our system." Charlie's eyebrows rose in surprise. "As far as anyone is concerned, Charlie Landers does not exist in Hall Industries."

Charlie let out a long breath. He was still nervous about the mystery intruder, but knowing his files were gone did make him feel somewhat relieved. Then he remembered something Mr. Hall had said a few moments ago. "Wait," he said, sitting up. "You're sending who over here?" he asked, confused.

He swore he could just make out Mr. Hall smiling through the dense shadows. "A team of security personnel, just to watch both yours and Dark Tamara's homes to insure they are secure."

Charlie frowned. "When will they be here?" he wondered.

Mr. Hall glanced down at his wrist. "They should be moving in right now if they are on schedule. I believe your neighbors across the street put heir house up for sale last week?"

Charlie raised an eyebrow, wondering how much his former neighbors had gotten for the house. Since he knew they were still living in it yesterday, he was willing to bet Mr. Hall's offer had been substantial.

"They are merely precautionary. Until we figure out what exactly the Omega Defiance and Elias Powers are up to, I believe it is best we are all extra cautious." He said pointedly.

Charlie nodded seriously and he saw Stan do the same in his peripheral. "I will contact Stan as soon as I know more. Until then, Aaron Stone," Mr. Hall said solemnly.

Charlie wasn't sure how to respond, so he smiled slightly and waved. Mr. Hall stared for a moment, expressionless, then reached forward and the feed went blank.

Taking off his headset, Charlie let out a long sigh. He had so many questions, and Mr. Hall had provided none of the answers he was looking for.

"Are you not relieved to hear your identity is safe, Charlie?" Stan asked, sounding genuinely curious.

Standing up, Charlie glanced at Stan as he walked past him, grabbing a hoodie that was lying on the floor. "Of course I am, Stan. It's just… with the man at Emma's last night and everything else… something isn't right," he said, slipping into his hoodie and zipping it up.

Stan looked troubled by this, but said nothing else. "Jason and I are going down to the BMX Park," he announced quickly. He'd told Jason they could leave by 2:10 and it was 2:15. He was late. Honestly, he was surprised Jase wasn't up here hounding him to hurry up. Now if he could only find his bag, he thought distractedly, digging through his closet.

"Are you sure that is a good idea, Charlie. Perhaps leaving the house is not the best idea at this time." Stan sounded concerned, but Charlie wasn't about to go tell Jason that they not only couldn't go to the park, but that he also had to stay in the house for the rest of the long weekend. Besides, he really needed a break from constantly thinking about the Omegas.

"Sorry, Stan. I need to get out of the house—aha!" he cried triumphantly, locating his bike bag.

"Mr. Hall did say it is best that we all be extra cautious," Stan pointed out.

Charlie glanced back at the android, grinning cheekily. "I promise I'll wear my helmet," he said. Stan gave him a look. Still grinning, Charlie turned to go downstairs, then paused and turned back to the android. "By the way," he started, smiling hesitantly. "The kitchen is a bit of a mess, nothing too bad… do you think you could…?" He let the question hang, watching Stan hopefully and smiling sweetly.

Stan rolled his eyes and sighed, resigned. Grinning, Charlie thanked him and jogged out of his room.

Downstairs, he reached the living room and came to an uncertain halt, the absence of a certain… _exuberant_ brother palpable in the total silence. "Jason?" he called out tentatively. Receiving no answer, he walked forward a few steps, becoming more and more nervous. "Jay?" he tried again, a bit louder.

Just as he turned the corner to go check the garage, a hand shot out and grabbed his shoulder. Without pausing, Charlie grabbed the attacker's wrist, twisting around and pushing the person up against the nearest wall with a hard bang.

"Oof." Charlie's eyes widened. Jason grinned sheepishly back at him. "I'd say _got 'cha_, but judging by the pain in my back I think you got me," he forced out hoarsely.

Realizing he still had his little brother pinned harshly against the wall, he quickly jerked back. Jason sagged forward slightly, bringing a hand up to his chest. "Dude, another one of your weekend wrestling moves?"

Charlie was relieved to see that Jason was grinning, but couldn't quite bring a full smile to his own face. "Yeah." He said uncertainly. "And if you sneak up me again I'm going to show you some more," he threatened, attempting to sound playful. He hoped his brother hadn't heard his fear.

Jason just scoffed, still smiling. "Yeah…I'm really scared. You ready yet?"

Thankful for the change in subject, Charlie picked up his gear where he had dropped it and threw the strap over his shoulder. "Yeah, let's go."

They went outside, where Jason had already pulled out both their bikes. As they mounted them, Charlie glanced across the street, where a large move-in van was parked. A few men were moving large boxes out of it and into the house. Jason looked over and frowned. "What happened to the Robinsons?" he asked curiously.

Charlie shrugged. "I guess they moved." He stated simply.

One of the men saw them watching and saluted briefly before continuing toward the van. Charlie's brows rose slightly and he shot a surreptitious glance at Jason.

"Weird," Jason said, letting out a small laugh.

"Yeah." Charlie agreed distractedly.

Suddenly, a loud bellow came from inside the house. "This mess is not little! Charlie!"

Charlie threw an amused look at Jason, who was biting his lip, eyes wide and laughing, "Go," Charlie said simply and Jason took off out of the driveway, Charlie following.

* * *

At the track, Charlie and Jason raced around the dirt course and attempted small jumps and stunts. Like Charlie had promised Stan, they wore their helmets, and all their pads, which turned out to be very beneficial to Jason. While racing his older brother, he managed to get ahead only once, and quickly fell back behind when his victory stunt sent him careening off the track and into a pile of mud.

Laughing to himself, Charlie turned around and rode over to Jason, avoiding other riders. Jason was standing and ripped off his helmet, staring down with distaste at his muddy jeans and jacket.

Still laughing, Charlie pulled up next to him. "You all right?"

Jason brushed off a particularly large glob of mud on his thigh and glared at Charlie. Charlie bit his lip, trying not to snicker anymore. He had recently realized how sensitive his little brother could be when it came to any competition between them. He'd come to the realization that sometimes Jason begrudged Charlie's athleticism, and had been trying to be more supportive. That's why he'd finally allowed Jason to pass him on the track. Then his bro had to go and try to show-off.

"You had me, little bro. Why'd you do that?" he asked, trying to avoid a gloomy Jason.

Jason shrugged and picked up his bike. "What's the point of winning if you can't do it with a little style?" he answered. Charlie smiled. Before he could say anything else, a large whoop sounded behind them, and they both turned to see Freddy and a couple friends from school ride over the embankment to get to them.

"Woo! Saw the wipeout, Jason!" Freddy hollered as he came up to them. Charlie glanced at Jason, noting his embarrassment and ready to stop Freddy if he had to.

"It was beyond awesome, man! Top ten, definitely!" A couple of the guys nodded, agreeing with Freddy. "Nice job, Jay-man," Freddy congratulated, holding out a fist.

Charlie grinned as Jason smiled and fist-bumped their buddy, and then bowed to the rest of the guys. As Jason accepted the other's congratulations, he greeted Freddy with their customary shake.

"Nice riding, man. Saw you and your baby bro battling it out. Surprised he passed you," he said knowingly. Charlie smiled to himself and shrugged. "He is a Landers. Like I say: awesomeness runs in the family."

Freddy grinned, shaking his head. "Me and the guys were going to go ride some of the ramps. You guys want to come?"

Charlie looked over at Jason, silently asking him. Jason nodded eagerly, so they followed the guys off the course where all the ramps were for practicing jumps and tricks. They all bypassed the face-crusher purposefully, though he saw Jason give it a longing look.

They all practiced some of the simpler tricks and jumps, just enjoying hanging out and cracking jokes at each other's expense. Freddy was an amazing stunt rider, but most of the other guys just dabbled, preferring to not try anything too ambitious. Even Charlie did very basic stunts, preferring the faster riding and terrain navigating skills the dirt course required.

Jason, on the other hand, loved trying out new stunts Freddy showed him… Things he shouldn't even be trying to attempt. Charlie had lost track of the number of times his brother had fallen, but he was still grinning like a mad man.

Charlie cringed as he saw Freddy showing his brother another move. He knew it would be futile to discourage his brother, but tried anyway. "Hey, Jay… Maybe you should hold off on that one till another day," he suggested.

Jason got defensive, so Charlie relented, not wanting to start a fight. Freddy was grinning like an idiot, and Charlie threw him an aggravated glare. "Don't look at me, man. Your baby bro is fearless."

Jason took a deep breath as he put his helmet back on and got ready. Charlie squinted in painful anticipation. Freddy just grinned and yelled out encouragement.

Jason made it off the ramp, but never even got started with his turn. A loose shoelace caught on his pedal and he plummeted back to the ground. Trying to jerk his lace free, he ended up getting it stuck and the bike careened forward uncontrollably, straight toward a group of guys near the edge of the ramp area. At the last minute, the bike toppled over and he slid across the ground, bowling over one of the big, burly guys.

Charlie winced and took off on his bike to help his brother. "Major wipe-out!" he heard Freddy exclaim, sounding ecstatic.

"You okay, Jay?" he asked as he pulled his bike up next Jason and the group of guys. His brother groaned slightly as he stood up, but he looked to be all right. He pulled at his helmet till it popped off.

"Whoa," he said, shaking his head as if to clear it. He looked at Charlie, smiling proudly. "Bet that looked cool."

Charlie rolled his eyes. Jason was fine. Both brothers suddenly looked to the side as the big dude Jason had knocked over in his impromptu tumble got up, practically growling and glaring daggers at Jason.

"Uh…" Jason stumbled, grinning sheepishly. "Sorry about that. Total "when stunts go bad" moment…accident… though you were standing kind of close to--" The big dude, who was much taller than both Jason and Charlie took a step forward menacingly. Charlie tensed on his bike. "Totally my fault," Jason said quickly. "My bad… completely," he said with a nervous laugh.

Before either brother could do anything, the guy stepped forward and shoved Jason, hard.

"Hey!" Charlie protested angrily as Jason stumbled back a few steps. He got off his bike as the guy advanced again, Jason continuing to step back, looking scared. Just as the guy reached out to presumably shove his little brother again, Charlie thrust his way in between them. "Hey!" he repeated, incensed. He shoved the huge guy backwards, away from Jason. And he _was_ huge. He saw that especially now that the dude was right in front of him. Lucky for him Aaron Stone had faced much worse than overgrown park bullies.

"You looking for a fight, dude?" the guy asked, laughing. A few of his buddies joined in, not seeing Charlie as being much of a threat. He saw Freddy and his friends come up to them out of the corner of his eye.

Charlie glared at the bully, jaw set. "_I'm_ not. But you shove my little brother again you'll get one," he spoke firmly, dead serious. He heard Jason try to get his attention behind him, but ignored him for now. He hated bullies. And he especially hated ones that went after his brother.

The group of guys laughed again, louder this time. "Get him, Greg," he heard one of the guy's friends say.

The bully, Greg, smiled smugly at Charlie. "Your _little_ brother needs to learn how to ride his bike. We've been watching him _fall_ all day." Several of his buddies snickered.

Charlie shook his head, smirking. "At least he is attempting some _real_ tricks. I haven't seen any of you guys do anything more than a bunny hop." He heard Freddy snicker and Greg's eyes narrowed, his cheeks flushing.

Jason came up right behind him and whispered in his ear. "Umm, Charlie. Maybe we should just—." With his attention temporarily on Jason, he almost missed it when Greg suddenly moved forward, fist swinging.

One-handed, he caught the fist right before it connected with his face, glaring and watching with a little satisfaction as Greg's eyes widened in surprise. The bullies face lit up in fury and he jerked his arm back, taking another swing, which Charlie ducked effortlessly.

Without giving him another chance to attempt a hit, Charlie darted around him, wrenching the bully's arm behind his back and shoving him face-first into his friends. Several of them all ended up in a pile together, grunting and complaining. Freddy and his friends came up behind Charlie. Greg and his buddies, realizing they were beat, made a hasty retreat.

Freddy laughed as the group of guys ran away. "Nice kung-fu moves, dude!" he congratulated, holding up a hand for a high five. Charlie sighed. "It's not like I was trying to fight." He looked over to Jason, who was looking at him oddly. "You okay?"

Jason shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm fine." He frowned at Charlie curiously. Charlie tried to ignore the look. He hated that he had to keep such a large secret from his family, but he knew he was protecting them by doing so.

"So… who wants pizza?" he asked, trying to change the subject. A chorus of "me's" and "I do's" greeted his question and soon the group was headed down the street to a small pizza parlor that was a regular hang-out for them.

They ordered their meals, and sat down toward the front, enjoying their large slices of gooey-cheese pizza. They'd run into a few of Jason's friends from school and they had all pushed some tables together to accommodate the large group.

Laughing at a joke Jason and his buddy had been attempting to tell, which had been the funny part, Charlie got up to refill his coke. As he stood up he looked out the window of the parlor to see Stan standing across the street. He frowned, looking at Jason to see if he had noticed. They were all too busy hysterically laughing.

Putting his cup down, he headed outside silently, crossing the street to where Stan waited. He held out his arms incredulously. "Could you be any creepier, Stan?" He pulled the unresisting android behind a few trees, hoping it would shield them. "What are you doing here?" A thought suddenly struck him. "Did Mr. Hall call?" he asked, suddenly anxious.

"Yes," Stan said simply. Charlie felt his heart start pounding. "What did he say?" he asked quickly.

"We have a mission, Aaron Stone."

Charlie's brow furrowed and he looked at Stan incredulously. "That's why he called? Another mission?"

"Yes, Aaron Stone." Stan answered with a smile. Charlie sighed in relief, and then glared at Stan, annoyed. Stan didn't seem to notice he'd just about given Charlie a small heart attack. "We must leave immediately. I have the SSJ in standby right above us." He pulled out the remote but Charlie stopped him from pressing the button. "Wait!" he cried.

Stan gave him an odd look. "It is imperative that we--." Charlie held up his hand. "I know, but I have to go tell Jason I'm leaving, first." Without waiting for a reply, he turned and headed back to the pizza parlor. And the day had been going so well, he thought. He and Jason had been getting along great, having fun, and now this happened.

He entered he parlor and watched Jason laughing and having fun with his friends. Steeling himself, he walked over to his little brother. Right as he was about to open his mouth, Jason looked up at him. "Hey," he started hopefully. "Can I go with Michael and Carter to Mike's house? They just got that awesome new zombie game and we want to play. You get to be zombies and eat people's brains!"

Charlie turned his nose up at the description, but inside he was elated. If Jason went over to a friend's house for a while he could go on the mission and be back before he came home.

"Yeah, sure," he said happily. Jason smiled then seemed to think about something. "What are you going to do? If you'd rather--."

"No," he said quickly. "Go ahead. I'll be fine. I'm kind of tired anyway. Probably'll just go home and nap." The lie came easily.

Jason shrugged and hopped up to leave with his friends. "Whatever, old man." With a final grin, he took off. Charlie left as well, after saying goodbye to everyone, waiting till his brother was out of sight before heading back to the small bank of trees where Stan was waiting. In moments they were soaring through the clouds, off on the next mission.

* * *

"You sure these are the coordinates Mr. Hall sent you?" Aaron asked for the second time.

He and Stan were moving slowly through a large, completely abandoned warehouse. There weren't even any leftover boxes or trash. The place was completely barren. Only a few working lamps remained, all of them in the middle of the room, swaying slightly.

Catching sight of movement out of the corner of his eye, Aaron whipped around and aimed his gauntlet. He saw a figure in the distance. "Hey!" he called out, taking off in pursuit. Oddly enough, the figure ran straight towards him. He jerked to a halt as the figure became close enough to get a good look at.

He paused, watching curiously as the figure did as well. "Huh," he wondered, letting out a small breath. Slowly, he walked forward, and so did the other person. When they were just an arm's length away, Aaron held out his arm, palm facing outward and touched it gently against the other person's. He gazed at his reflection, wondering who had decided to put a giant floor-to-ceiling mirror in an empty warehouse.

Stan came up beside him, staring at his counterpart peculiarly. He tilted his head to the side. "Curious."

Aaron nodded, looking up to see how far it extended. It was hard to tell. "It is a weird thing to put in the middle of a warehouse," he said, voicing his earlier thought.

"Oh. Yes, I suppose," Stan answered. "But is my head really that big?" He rotated his head, completely around; trying to gauge it's size. Aaron watched him until the android realized what he was doing, throwing a sheepish look at Aaron. Aaron merely raised an eyebrow, amused, and a little disgusted.

He took several long steps backwards, till his double was much smaller. Stan followed him. "What now, Aaron Stone?"

Aaron just smiled, held up his right arm and fired once, right at himself. A small, charred hole appeared, surrounded by cracks. As they watched, the cracks grew and spread. The cracks and pings of the glass breaking were the only sounds they could hear as the entire mirror quickly was overtaken by a spider web of broken glass. Then, with one last loud crack, thousands of glittering pieces of mirror cascaded down to the warehouse floor, scattering out in all directions.

As the last mirror shard fell, Stan and Aaron exchanged a glance. "Okay," Aaron said, smiling. "That was kind of awesome."

Stan smiled. "Yes, totally awesome…dude." He looked at Aaron as if asking for approval. Aaron bit his cheek and shook his head once. Stan frowned, confused.

Behind the mirror was a large wall. It had one single door: One way in, one way out. He was starting to get the same feeling he'd had in the mountain village in the Alps.

"I suppose we lost the element of surprise. They definitely heard that."

Stan nodded in agreement. "Most likely." He turned to Aaron. "Shall we go on?"

Aaron took off toward the door, knowing Stan would follow. Trap or no trap, he was sick of this underhanded approach the Omegas were taking. He wanted to know what they were up to; what they were after this time. Whatever it was it couldn't be good. If he had to walk into another one of their traps, so be it, as long as he learned something.

The door ended up leading to a passageway that sloped downwards, presumably underground. He and Stan followed it all the way to a large metal door. He tested it. It was locked. He indicated the lock mechanism to Stan, and in a few minutes, the android managed to open it.

The room they walked into was pitch black. The only light was from a small console on the wall. "Flashlight would be helpful, Stan."

When the android didn't answer, Aaron sighed and walked over to the wall. It appeared to be a switch. Hopefully for the lights, he thought. He pulled the lever. For a moment nothing happened, then huge bright lights flooded the room causing him to squint and shield his eyes from the harsh glare.

"Well if it isn't Mr. Hall's errand boy."

Startled, Aaron lowered his arm, just in time to get kicked solidly in the chest. He flew backwards several feet, hitting the wall with painful force. He let out a small grunt of pain. Before he could even move, an arm lashed out, catching him solidly in the stomach, making him curl over, the wind knocked out of him. Whoever was hitting him was too fast and he had been taken off guard, with no time to react.

The next kick hit him solidly in the jaw, causing his head to wrench to the side and his ears ring. He dropped forward on his hands and knees, feeling blood welling up inside his mouth. He felt hands grab his belt and uniform, hauling him to his feet and slamming him back against the wall. A hand went to his throat, cutting off his air supply. He panicked slightly when he failed to draw in a breath and brought both arms up to the attacker's hand, trying to pry it off.

Getting a good look at his attacker for the first time, he noticed the familiar snarl surrounded by swirling tattoos. Souljacker. Behind him, he could barely make out a smiling Dr. Necros.

He glared at Souljacker, who raised a hand to strike him with again. He paused, grinning at Aaron. Aaron knew Souljacker was probably beyond pleased to have a chance at a rematch. He, however, was not, and had had enough of this. Using Souljacker's hesitation, he released the constricting hand and brought his gauntlet up, firing it straight at Souljacker.

Eyes wide, the dangerous man just managed to get out of the way, but the shot did clip him. Souljacker screamed in pain and anger, a hand to his face, where a burning scorch mark had done away with a small portion of his tattoo. Feeling the wound, Souljacker growled ominously, jerking his head around to glare icily at Aaron.

He glowered right back, spitting out a mouthful of blood and trying to catch his breath. He rubbed his throat, which felt soar from Souljacker's relentless grip.

Dr. Necros laughed, amused. "Impressive, Aaron Stone." He made a motion behind him and for the first time, Aaron noticed that Stan was being held captive by several of his goons. A restraining device similar to the one used on Stan the last time they'd run into Necros fitted around his neck.

"Stan!" he called, taking a step forward. Souljacker whipped out his twin sticks, their sharp tips shining in the harsh light. He paused, watching the man carefully. He'd beaten him before, but in the enclosed room there was nowhere for him to swing from like the last time. Hand to stick combat just didn't sound too appealing at the moment. He held up his gauntlet, careful to stay out of his weapons' range.

Dr. Necros laughed. "It would appear Souljacker has everything under control here. Come." His guards, hauling Stan with them, took off toward another door. Stan glanced at him panicked. "Aaron--." The door sliding shut cut off anything else he was going to say.

Aaron's heart thudded loudly in his chest. He coughed once, his throat irritated. Flecks of blood and spit came out, but he had bigger problems. Souljacker smiled easily. Aaron got ready. He had to get this over with so he could find Stan and get out of here. He wanted answers, but he'd rather get himself and Stan out of here, alive.

He shifted slightly, ready to move. Souljacker grinned, the sight even more gruesome with the bloody and burnt tissue on the side of his face. "I've been looking forward to this for a long time."

Aaron sighed to himself. "Yeah," he said. "I thought so." With a battle cry, Souljacker launched forward, his twin sticks cutting through the air in a dizzying pattern. Aaron got off a couple shots, then rolled to the right to avoid being sliced to ribbons. Both his shots were deflected and Dr. Necros' right hand man wasted no time in launching another attack.

Again and again he tried slicing, stabbing, and hitting Aaron. Luckily, he had managed to avoid anything but a few glancing blows. He'd even gotten in a few good hits of his own. Waiting for the moment right before Souljacker attacked, like in the game, Aaron prepared, then leaped, landing a solid hit to the man's chest. He fired another shot from his gauntlet as Souljacker stumbled backwards, but the man managed to deflect it with a stick.

With a cry of fury, Souljacker charged forward, both sticks held so their gleaming points faced toward Aaron, intent on running him through. Thinking quickly, he turned around and ran towards the wall. As he reached it, he jumped up, with the aid of his X5 runners, walking up the wall briefly and flipping in mid air. Souljacker's momentum slammed him into the unforgiving slab of concrete and Aaron landed safely behind him. He backed up a few steps, realizing he had to think of something fast… or be skewered.

He ducked as Souljacker whipped around, avoiding what would have been a painful blow to the head. Unfortunately he was too slow to avoid the next swipe. His right side came on fire as one of the stick's sharp tips sliced straight through his uniform, tearing into the flesh right below his ribs. The blow and the pain caught him off-guard and he stumbled backward, a hand going to his side. He pressed it against his side, and then pulled it up, examining it. Blood covered his palm. He looked up at Souljacker, who was grinning, and felt real fear. He was injured, tiring, and for now, outmatched. This had been a trap, and Dr. Necros and Souljacker had the home field advantage.

Souljacker walked slowly toward him, grinning triumphantly. He brandished both sticks and Aaron took a defensive stance, ignoring the sharp pang in his side every time he moved. Suddenly, a loud claxon sound invaded the small room. He had no idea what it meant, but Souljacker lowered his sticks, though the obvious disappointment in his face was unmistakable.

Frowning, Aaron saw his chance and darted forward, knocking one of the sticks out of Souljacker's hand and landing a solid kick to his knee. The man howled as his left leg collapsed, leaning forward to grab at it. Seeing the opportunity to pay the psychotic stick-wielder back for his earlier treatment he moved to perform a roundhouse, but his leg was caught, similarly to how he'd held off bully Greg's fist only hours before.

Souljacker jerked it up, causing him to fall backwards. He gasped as the fall jarred his side, the pain turning into white-hot agony. He dimly saw Souljacker squat over him, leaning down. The man looked at him with a burning hatred, and Aaron knew he was about to become the man's pincushion. Souljacker's arm darted forward, to his neck and Aaron felt a small pinprick. He had only a moment to be confused, then he felt like he was falling, and a blissful darkness swallowed him completely whole.

* * *

Aaron was floating, or at least that's how it felt. Everything was dark so he didn't know what was up or down. He felt at peace, safe.

He jerked suddenly and a sharp fire spread from his side and engulfed his entire body. The darkness was being penetrated by light, and a creeping anxiety entered his consciousness. What didn't change was the feeling of floating.

Another jerk and he heard himself groan. Deciding to find out what was going on he opened his eyes, and saw only gray fabric. His side ached as another small jostle jarred him and he realized he wasn't floating. He was being carried. He'd been thrown over someone's shoulder.

The last image of his consciousness came to mind and Aaron jerked. Souljacker. Dr. Necros. Stan! They'd taken Stan! Realizing his vulnerable position, he came to the conclusion he too had been captured. With this knowledge he began to struggle and try to dislodge himself from whoever was carrying him. He noticed his hands were not bound and pushed against the person's back.

"Let me go!" he cried out, still struggling.

To his surprise, the person did. In the next moment he found himself being carefully placed on the ground and leaned against something hard. No matter how gentle the person had been, the movement still caused him a considerable amount of pain and he squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating on breathing.

"Aaron?"

When he finally opened his eyes, he was looking into the very concerned face of Stan. He frowned, confused. Maybe the blow to his head had been harder than he thought. "Stan?" he asked.

Stan seemed thrilled at the one word and smiled in relief, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right?" he asked, and he seemed really worried.

Aaron brought a hand to his side. A bandage covered the wound, but he could feel the blood already seeping through.

His throat was sore so he answered Stan with one simple word. "Ouch."

Stan looked up, then reached forward and grabbed Aaron's shoulders. "Hold on, the SSJ is here." In the next moment he was sitting in the SSJ and Stan was buckling him in.

"I've called Emma and she is standing by with all the medical supplies we will need. She got everything out of my room we will need and put it in her house. Her parents are still staying at a hotel." Stan explained everything quickly while driving the SSJ.

Charlie frowned, wondering something. "Why can't we just do it at my… house?" he asked with a wince.

Stan looked at him worriedly. "Jason will be home by now and he cannot see you like this. Too many questions."

Charlie shifted slightly, and then stopped, realizing it was a bad, and painful, idea. "He was going to a friend's house. He'll be gone for hours," he said, very confused.

Stan glanced over at him. "It is almost 11:00 in the evening back at your house."

Charlie's eyes widened and he sat up straight, ignoring the shooting pain in his side. "I was out for that long?" Stan looked uncomfortable, shooting him another worried glance.

"Stan, what happened?" he asked seriously. "You were captured. How'd you get me out?"

Stan looked out the cockpit window, watching the clouds fly by. "I am not entirely sure." Charlie watched Stan carefully. The android seemed like he was running a complicated program inside his head, analyzing everything. His eyes kept darting back and forth, as if he was reading. Finally he turned back to Charlie. "I believe Dr. Necros found a way to alter my memory chips. I can't remember anything after they slapped the restraining belt on me."

Charlie watched as Stan turned away. The android was obviously troubled by this memory loss. Charlie couldn't blame him. He groaned slightly, partially in pain, but also wondering how he was going to explain to Jason where he went.

Sighing, he leaned his head back, suddenly feeling very tired. He heard Stan say something, but he was already lost to the conscious realm, slipping back into a painless sleep.

* * *

**Ta-Da! Hope you all enjoyed it! I told you it was long! It was over 9,000 words and took me FOREVER. Hopefully it wasn't too long? I would have ended it sooner, but then I would have been giving you all a whole lot of brotherly fluff and plot and no exciting action. You'd all been waiting so long and been so encouraging I felt I should go ahead and add a little extra. So there you go! Let me know if you like how everything is going so far! I'll get the next part up just as soon as I can! Thanks for reading! You all are awesome! **

**NinjaPadawan**


	6. Chapter 6

**.......Hello?... I'm picturing everyone who has been reading this story staring down at me with annoyed expressions, crossed arms, and tapping foots. So, on that note... I am soooo sorry this has taken as long as it has. I can't believe I left this thing unupdated (not a word) for so long. I just haven't had any time. So I apologize for the wait.**

**But good news! I am finished with school... forever! I just finished up my last final and decided I owed you all a long-overdue update, so I hope you enjoy it. It's not my favorite, but I need it all to set up the next part, which is going to be very exciting. Enjoy!**

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Exhausted and stiff with pain, Charlie gradually made his way across Emma's yard towards his house. He'd woken up not long ago on Emma's couch, both her and Stan hovering over him. The wound in his side from Souljacker's stick had been stitched up and the various cuts and bruises under his clothes treated. Unfortunately, it was impossible to hide all the evidence of the fight he had lost. His aching jaw was an unpleasant shade of dark purple, the cut near his hairline was bruising and caked in dried blood, and his bottom lip was split and swelling, blood still occasionally welling up and congealing in the cut. All in all, he was a gruesome and sorry sight to behold.

As he ascended the front steps to his house, he tried to keep his upper body straight and still, carefully taking each step one at a time. Stan had given him some strong pain medication, but unfortunately it hadn't fully kicked in yet, and the tight stitches pulled painfully with even the smallest of movements. Stan and Emma had tried to get him to stay at Emma's until he felt better, but Charlie knew that if he didn't get back to his house soon, Jason would call mom. And that would be bad for everyone.

He entered the dark foyer hesitantly, not looking forward to dealing with a little brother who would most likely be demanding answers. He had no further time to dwell on it, for as soon as he shut the door a light came on toward the living room and he heard hurried footsteps rush down the stairs. He waited and watched as Jason appeared, clutching the home phone in one hand, but both arms held out in a wide and inquiring pose.

His brother looked at him incredulously, as he walked toward him. "Not to sound like mom or anything," he started indignantly. "But where the _heck_ have you been, Charlie?"

Charlie shrugged slightly, though he knew Jason couldn't see him very well, not wanting to tell what he thought was a very weak, not to mention unfathomable, lie. He and Emma had come up with a story to explain his current state, but he didn't like it. He told himself it was because he was sick of lying to Jason, and he was, but he knew it was also because it would bruise his ego to match his skin.

Jason's eyes narrowed irritably and he held up the phone. "I was getting ready to call mom. I would have already if Emma hadn't told me you were on your way home. Where have you been, Charlie?"

Charlie sighed and took a step forward, wincing slightly as his stitches pulled. Jason looked at him suspiciously. He didn't notice, he was too busy trying to stay upright, suddenly feeling dizzy, like he really needed to sit down. He took another step forward and grabbed Jason's arm, partially to make sure he listened to him and also, though he wouldn't admit it, for a little extra support.

"Look, Jay—."As he met his brother's gaze anything else he was going to say was forgotten as he took in Jason's expression. He cursed himself, realizing he'd stepped into the light and Jason could now see him… along with all the lovely bruising on the side of his face. He'd meant to hide his wounds until_ after _he'd had a chance to explain them_. _

"Jason--," he tried quickly.

"Charlie--," Jason gasped. He shook his head a few times, mouth opening in disbelief.

Charlie tried to wave his concern away, "Looks a lot worse than it is, trust me," he said, attempting a smile that quickly turned into a grimace of pain.

"Oh my god." Jason said simply, looking horrified. Charlie sighed, running a hand wearily down his face.

"Where were you?" Jason demanded. Before Charlie could stop him, he reached and pulled him forward to get a better look. Charlie hissed in pain and squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. The sudden motion had pulled at his side and caused the pain to flare.

Jason let go of him like he was on fire. "What's wrong?" he asked, sounding scared. This was not going like Charlie had hoped. But first things first, he needed to sit down, now, before he fell down and _really_ freaked his brother out.

He gave his brother what he hoped was a reassuring smile, though it didn't seem to calm Jason down any. "Look, can we maybe sit down and do this?" he said through gritted teeth. Jason said nothing but he did move out of his way. Thankful, he slowly made his way to the couch, trying not to jar his side.

"You're walking funny… why are you walking funny?" Jason asked from where he hovered at his side. Charlie finally reached the couch and sunk into the cushions, relieved to be able to sit down.

"I went back to the skate park," he said, beginning to spin his elaborate lie.

Jason had followed him into the living room and seated himself on the coffee table next to the couch. "So you crashed?" Jason asked sounding surprised.

No, he thought to himself, he was too good to crash. To Jason he said, "Yeah. I ran into our friends from earlier. They weren't too happy to see me again." Emma had come up with the story, having heard about their earlier scuffle from Freddy, but he hated that he had to pretend those guys even had a chance at beating him up.

Jason's eyes widened. "But you could take them," he insisted, and Charlie admitted he was a little touched that his brother had been thinking the same thing.

He shrugged. "They kind of took me by surprise. Ran me off the track. There were more of them than earlier. Like… eight guys." That hadn't been the number in the original story, but he felt justified embellishing it just a little bit.

Jason leaned around to look at his face and winced in sympathy. "So why'd it take you so long to get home?"

"Too sore to move," Charlie stated, and it was the most truthful thing he'd said to his brother so far. "And those jerks stole my bike so I had to walk," he added forlornly.

Earlier, Emma had snuck over and stolen his bike out of the garage. He briefly wondered what story they were going to construct so he could get it back, but a sharp stabbing sensation in his side brought his focus back to the present. In pain and exhausted, Charlie closed his eyes, just wanting to sleep until school started again. Some long weekend this had turned out to be.

"Charlie?" His brother's voice reminded him that he couldn't quite go to sleep yet. Sighing inwardly, he sat up slightly, unable to hide the wince, which Jason jumped on in a second.

"What's wrong?" he asked hurriedly.

"Dude, I'm fine," Charlie reassured. "I just took a bad fall off my bike. No big." He tried to put on a convincing smile.

"I think I should call mom," Jason said nervously.

Charlie sat up quickly. "No!" he insisted, then grit his teeth as side ached.

Jason started forward in alarm. "What is it?" he asked anxiously.

Charlie sat back slowly and took a moment before acknowledging his little brother. "Don't call mom," he said. Jason looked about to protest, but Charlie cut him off firmly. "_Don't_, Jason. It's nothing, I swear. I'm just sore."

Charlie saw Jason glance back toward wherever he'd put down the phone. "Hey, Jay," he said quickly, deciding he would have to distract his brother. "Would you mind getting me something to put on my jaw? There's a bag of peas mom usually uses in the freezer somewhere. No one eats those."

Jason jumped up and darted toward the kitchen with an exuberant, "Sure!" and noisily rifled through the freezer.

With his brother out of the room, Charlie took a moment to lean his head back and close his eyes. Aaron Stone was once again invading his life as Charlie Landers. It had happened a few times before, but never with such visible, and painful, consequences. The last time that even came close in comparison was when Aaron was poisoned by one of Necros' experiments and his violent mood swings caused Charlie countless problems at school and at home. At least he couldn't remember most of that particular occasion. He flexed his bruised jaw. He would definitely be remembering this incident for a while.

Jason rushed back in, and held out a bag. "I couldn't find the peas." Charlie glanced at the bag. "Do you think the corn will work?" Jason asked. He looked genuinely concerned that there may be some magical quality the frozen peas had over the frozen corn. Had the situation been different, Charlie may have made a smart comment, or at least laughed. Tonight he knew his present state was stressing his little brother, so he kept his amusement to himself and gratefully accepted the bag of frozen corn.

"Thanks, Jay," he said sincerely.

"Do you need anything else?" Jason asked, eager to help in some way.

Charlie smiled slightly, placing the corn against his jaw. "Yeah. When people start asking what happened, how about we change the number of guys to twenty?" He gave Jason a mischievous look and was relieved to see the corner of his little brother's mouth rise slightly.

"Twenty or eight… it doesn't matter. You really look like crap, Charlie."

Jason was smiling slightly as he said this, and Charlie chuckled, fingering his swollen jaw briefly. "Yeah, I guess I probably do."

Jason sat back down, but Charlie hardly noticed. The exhaustion and his injuries had finally caught up with him. He relaxed and let sleep claim him, letting go of his worries until tomorrow.

* * *

Charlie woke to the feel of a cold hand resting on his forehead. He opened his eyes, squinting against the harsh light that immediately assailed them. There was a blurry figure leaning over him, and it very gradually came into focus until Charlie found himself face to face with Stan as the android checked him for fever.

"Stan?" he asked groggily. The last thing he remembered was talking to Jason. Charlie glanced around briefly, realizing he'd fallen asleep on the couch, but didn't see his little brother anywhere. Judging by the amount of light coming in the windows, Jason was probably still asleep.

Sitting up, he noticed a blanket had been draped over him and his bag of, now thawed, frozen corn placed in a bowl. Charlie yawned, and then groaned as his bruised jaw throbbed. Suddenly, the events of yesterday came flooding back to memory as every ache and pain made itself known. Stan must have sensed his discomfort, for Charlie found two pills and a glass of water held out in front of him a moment later.

Blinking to clear away the sleep in his eyes, Charlie nodded gratefully and swallowed the pills, hoping they would go to work fast. He finally looked at Stan, who still looked as concerned as he had last night. He could remember Stan telling him that he didn't remember what happened to him. And he himself had been out cold.

Both of them still had no idea what Necros and Souljacker had been up to, or why they had both escaped with their lives. They'd been caught and were completely vulnerable. And though he was thankful to have escaped relatively unscathed, it made no sense.

He was hoping Stan had already briefed Mr. Hall and the elusive leader of Hall Industries had some answers to give them. Whatever the Omega Defiance was up to, he had a feeling they were about to find out, whether they figured it out beforehand or not.

"Hey, Stan," he begun, intending to ask him what Mr. Hall had to say about their disastrous mission. Stan held up a hand and indicated for him to hush, looking off to the side. Frowning, Charlie followed Stan's gaze, and smiled. Jason was sprawled out in the reclining chair, fast asleep and drooling. Apparently, his little brother had decided to sleep downstairs as well.

Stan was indicating with his head toward the guest room. He nodded at Stan and the android helped him stand. He was careful to take it slowly, stifling a hiss as his side stretched out. Stan moved towards his room, but Charlie paused, looking down at Jason. He bent forward slowly and grabbed the discarded sheet he had been covered with. Carefully, so as not to wake Jason, he laid it over his slumbering sibling. Satisfied, he followed Stan.

Once inside the guest room, Charlie immediately turned to Stan. "Have you talked to Mr. Hall?" he asked hurriedly. "What did he say?"

Stan shook his head, frowning thoughtfully. "I gave him a quick briefing of the mission last night, but have not received any communication from Mr. Hall as of this morning."

Charlie was surprised to hear this, and gaped at Stan for a few moments. The android used this time to gently steer Charlie to the examination table in the middle of the room. Still baffled that Mr. Hall hadn't even called to check in on them, Charlie absent-mindedly pulled himself onto the table.

"Did- did you try contacting Mr. Hall again?" he finally asked. Perhaps they were supposed to initiate the contact. Stan shook his head, and Charlie saw that he actually looked worried.

"I tried contacting Hall Industries while you were asleep." Stan lifted up his shirt as he spoke, examining the stitches in his side. Charlie hardly noticed, still thinking about Mr. Hall. "And?" he asked impatiently.

Stan glanced up at him with a grimace. "There was no response."

Charlie frowned. Now he knew what had Stan so worried. Mr. Hall could be in trouble. And if that were the case, it was up to Aaron Stone to help.

He hopped off the table, ignoring the pull in his side and headed toward the door. Stan was immediately on him, blocking the doorway. "Where do you think you are going, Charlie?" he asked in his teacher's voice.

"Hall Industries," he said simply, taking a step toward the door, but Stan was right there to block him again. Charlie let out an annoyed huff. "Look, Stan, Mr. Hall could be in some real trouble. The Omega Defiance is obviously up to something. Something big. You can't get in contact with him and after what happened last night… he would have called Stan." Charlie met Stan's gaze squarely, holding himself straight and sure. He may not always appreciate how Mr. Hall uses him and the man's untrusting nature, but he admired his goals and was nothing if not loyal. "He would have contacted us by now, Stan."

Once again, he moved toward the door, and once again, Stan got in his way. The android put a firm hand against Charlie's chest, halting him in his tracks. Charlie just looked at him incredulously, not understanding why Stan wasn't more anxious to help his creator. Stan sighed, seeming to know what he was thinking. "I agree that the situation requires action." Charlie opened his mouth, but Stan cut him off. "Which is why I have asked Emma to look into it." Charlie opened and closed his mouth a few times, not sure what to say. It seems Stan was way ahead of him after all.

Stan smiled slightly. "She is using all her resources to attempt to contact Hall Industries and discover their status. I think you would agree it would be wise to find out what we are walking into, if anything."

Charlie ignored Stan's somewhat patronizing tone. He knew Stan was probably right, and trusted that Emma would be able to find out what was going on, but he hated having nothing to do. He wasn't any use to anyone until it came time for the actual mission. Until then, he had the unpleasant task of waiting.

Charlie made his way back toward the living room after Stan finished his examination, lost in his own thoughts. There was a deep feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach and it was making him nervous. Something was wrong, and he knew it.

He entered the living room once again and was surprised to see that Jason was beginning to stir. It was still quite early, at least earlier than his little brother ever bothered to get up. He watched as his brother grumbled sleepily, stretching out and blinking the sleep from his eyes. Jason turned his head lazily, and his half-lidded eyes met Charlie's amused gaze. He blinked a couple more times, then his eyes widened.

Jason shot up in the chair, wiping an arm quickly across his eyes. Charlie almost laughed as the recliner tipped precariously, practically unseating Jase as it suddenly and unexpectedly popped back into its upright position.

"Morning," Charlie greeted, moving by Jason to get back to the couch. He sat down slower than normally, but he did actually feel much better after taking those pills. He reached forward and grabbed the remote, absently starting to search for something to watch. It would take Emma a while most likely to figure anything out, so he might as well find something to do.

Jason's eyes had never left Charlie, following him as he sat down and looking at him strangely. Charlie turned to his little brother, raising an eyebrow. "What?" he asked.

Jason looked confused, most likely not fully coherent. His gaze was still bleary, his hair sticking up at odd angles, and dried drool pooled in the corner of his mouth. Charlie smiled slightly at the sight. "Where's my camera when I need it."

Jason's brow furrowed and Charlie chuckled, turning back to the television. Nothing was on, not that he'd been expecting there to be. He turned off the TV with a sigh and looked back over at Jason, who was fingering the blanket he had thrown over him earlier and that Charlie suspected his little brother had first put over him.

"So what was your great plan for today?" he asked, trying to draw his brother into a conversation. He'd rather not get into what happened last night.

Jason frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked. Charlie looked at him oddly. "You know, the great three-day weekend extravaganza… or whatever you called it. You only have all of today. Mom will be home tomorrow night."

Jason shrugged. "I didn't really have any big plans." Charlie noted the morose tone and knew it was partially his fault… well maybe entirely his fault. The Omega Defiance couldn't have picked a worse weekend to decide to start acting like a team.

Charlie held back a sigh. He could either sit around and brood while he waited for Emma to figure out what was going on, or he could cheer up his little brother.

Slapping his thighs, Charlie stood up stiffly. "Alright, come on, let's go."

Jason looked up at him, still frowning, but now he was curious. "Go where?"

"I'm bored. Let's go play some hero rising while we figure out what to do for the rest of the day

Jason stood up, thinking. "We could always just play Hero Rising all day." He suggested. Charlie pursed his lips thinking about it. "We better do something productive, too, or mom will get on our case," he decided.

Jason frowned. "How would mom know?"

Charlie gave him a look as if to ask Jason if he were serious.

Jason nodded to himself after a moment. "Your right. It's mom."

Charlie smiled and they made their way up the stairs to Charlie's room.

Two hours, and 10 'game overs' for Terminus Mag later, Charlie and Jason were still playing hero rising. Neither Emma nor Stan had come in and interrupted, so Charlie was assuming Emma had yet to find a way to tap into Hall's downed communications. He really wanted to just leave and make sure Hall Industries was okay, but Stan had made his point. Besides, he thought, glancing over at the hard look of concentration on his brother's face, he was having fun.

"Whoa, Charlie! Watch out!" Jason's warning came just in time. His avatar had been about to be skewered by one of Zephyr's ninjas. He winced in sympathy pain at the close call. The last thing he needed was his online avatar injured, too.

He realized his concentration was waning and his side starting to throb. He kept adjusting himself in the chair he was sitting in, but nothing helped. He took his eyes away from the screen for just a moment, trying to find a more comfortable position, and the ninjas attacked.

"No…Wait!" Jason pounded furiously on the controller and Charlie looked up in time to see a few sneaky ninjas get right past an oblivious Aaron Stone, and reach a doomed Terminus Mag. He grabbed his own controller, trying to swoop in and save the day, but it was too late.

"Noooo!" Jason cried, as his avatar was defeated, again. "Aww, man!" he whined, throwing the controller down. A large 'game over' taunted from a black screen and Charlie looked sheepish, knowing he'd left his little brother's avatar vulnerable to attack.

"Sorry," Charlie apologized. Jason huffed, but when he turned to look at Charlie he was grinning. "Do you realize that is the farthest Terminus Mag has ever made it in the awesome world that is Hero Rising?" Charlie smiled slightly. "We got past Helix, the mutant boss… Terminus Mag was dominating! I know I've said it before, but we make an awesome team!"

Charlie grinned, deciding not to remind his jubilant little brother he would have made it farther had Charlie been paying more attention. "Hey, how about we take a break. I'm starving."

Jason took off his headset, standing up. "Oh, yeah. Totally."

Charlie stood up as well, though not as quickly, as his side was starting to pound. He wasn't really that hungry, but he needed to find Stan and get some more medication.

He looked up and saw that Jason was watching him carefully, a small concerned frown forming. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Charlie pasted on a smile. "Yeah, I'm good."

Jason was still frowning, but he turned around and left the room. Charlie followed, glad his brother was in front of him so he didn't see how stiffly he held himself.

Traveling slower than usual, he was able to glance into Jason's perpetually messy room. Their mom was always telling Jason to pick it up and Jason always seemed to be cleaning it. The results were just never really visible.

He paused as he noticed an empty space on a wall that wasn't usually there. His brother had long shelves that extended across three of his walls.

"Hey, Jay!" Charlie called. Jason appeared a moment later, looking confused as to what Charlie was doing at his doorway.

"What?"

"What happened to your shelf?"

Jason frowned and looked to where Charlie indicated. "Oh. It just fell. On of the brackets holding it to the wall broke or something."

"I could help you fix it." It was something else to do while he waited.

"Naw, don't worry about it." Jason said, waving away the offer, with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Charlie remembered that Jason had built them as a father son project with their dad not long before he'd died.

Charlie softened his voice. "I'll just help you get it back on the wall," he offered. "Then you can put all of your toys back on the shelf," he added, trying to lighten the mood.

Jason frowned. "They're not toys. Their all highly collectable action figures."

"Whatever."

They argued all the way to the kitchen, where Charlie left Jason so he could go hunt down Stan and find out where the pain pills were. Not to mention, he was hoping Stan had an update.

He went to Stan's room first, fist poised and ready to knock when the door was suddenly jerked open. Emma stood in the entrance and she jumped in surprise when she found Charlie already standing outside the door. Her surprise, however, soon faded into relief and she sighed. "Thank goodness, I was just about to come and get you. Perfect timing, Charlie." She reached forward and yanked him into the room. "Come, on," She said impatiently.

Charlie found himself stumbling and fighting to keep vertical as he was unceremoniously pulled into Stan's room. He only vaguely heard the door slam behind him, the painful throbbing in his side now white hot.

"Charlie?!"

"I'm sorry! I totally forgot! Charlie?"

He felt a hand rest against his shoulder and let out a long, shaky breath as he got the pain back under control. He looked up and saw Emma standing across from him, a hand over her mouth and eyes wide. He gave her a small reassuring smile. His side was actually feeling better; the sudden movement had just wrenched it.

He addressed Stan, who he assumed was the person standing right next to him. "Can I have some more of that medicine… Please?" he added desperately.

The hand disappeared only to be replaced a moment later, and two pills held out to him. He took them gratefully.

"Charlie, I'm so sorry. I got excited and forgot how hurt you were." Emma was looking at him guiltily.

"No problem, Ems. Just… try to remember next time, yeah?" He grinned at her, letting her know there was nothing to forgive.

Emma's mouth quirked into a slight smile. Stan chose that moment to interject, and his tone was grim. "Emma has been able to break through into Hall's main server," he begun, getting right down to business.

Charlie threw Emma a raised eyebrow, impressed and also a little scared. She grinned back knowingly. "It took a while, but the only reason I was even able to get in was because someone had already hacked the system."

Charlie didn't like the sound of that. "So what does that mean?"

Emma's expression had become grim and Stan answered for her. "It means that Mr. Hall's entire mainframe has been compromised," the android stated matter-of-factly.

Emma nodded, looking worried. "But that is not the worst news."

Charlie scoffed. "It's not?"

Emma shook her head, glancing at Stan. "I only got into the system because I was able to follow the hacker through the doorways they made in Hall Industries' firewalls. I was able to actually follow the hacker's paths and see exactly what he was going after… before he kicked me out." Emma pouted slightly, no doubt piqued that she wasn't able to outdo the hacker.

Charlie was impatient to find out answers. "Well? What were they after?"

"I don't know for sure."

"I thought you just said you did?" Charlie said, incredulous.

"I know what _computer_ systems they are going after, Charlie." Emma calmly stressed. "I can tell you exactly what security systems they are disabling and where whatever they are after is, but the what isn't mentioned, except that it is classified above top secret."

Stan interjects: "Communication with Hall Industries has been disabled and the site most likely breached. Aaron Stone is needed to rescue Mr. Hall and secure the facility. I think it is safe to say the Omega Defiance has made its move."

Charlie nodded gravely. He'd had a bad feeling about the defiance for a while, and now it seemed they'd somehow discovered Mr. Hall and his company's main hideout. Emma said they were going after something specific, and Charlie knew whatever it was didn't matter, as long as the Omegas didn't get their hands on it.

"Emma, how long until they find what they are looking for?"

Emma bit her lip. "Not long. They were almost through the last firewalls hiding the location right before I was kicked out."

Charlie nodded and turned to Stan. "The SSJ?" he asked. Stan nodded once. "Ready and waiting above the house," he confirmed.

He turned to leave, but Emma stopped him. "Charlie, I can tell you exactly where they are hitting, but you are going to have to ask Mr. Hall if you want to know what they are after," she said and Charlie saw she looked nervous.

He gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile. She tried to return it, failing miserably. Then her eyes suddenly widened as an idea struck her. "You could use some backup on this one Charlie. Dark Tamara is ready to assist." She held up a hand in salute. Charlie would have loved to have her at his back for this mission, but he suddenly realized he was going to need her backup somewhere else entirely.

He steeled himself, knowing she wasn't going to like what he asked. "I would love to have you along, Emma…" he started nervously.

Emma's eyes narrowed. "But?"

Charlie gave her a nervous grin.

* * *

Jason once again glanced over at Emma as she sat on the couch, flipping through a magazine and turning the pages with much more force than he thought was probably required. She'd showed up after Charlie had disappeared, _again_, saying that Stan had decided to take him to a doctor. Jason found it odd Charlie hadn't bothered to say anything before leaving, but he couldn't deny his older brother didn't look like he could use a doctor. Besides, he knew Charlie was in a lot of pain. His brother might have been trying to hide it, but Jason wasn't an idiot. He just didn't see why he couldn't go, too.

He was still a little surprised that Charlie had gotten so hurt. Especially by a bunch of big, stupid bullies. He'd asked Emma about it, but all she'd said was a few clipped comments about how it should teach Charlie to never go anywhere without backup.

Jason sighed to himself as he made himself another peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He hated being the youngest. With his mom working and his older brother always disappearing randomly, the 14 year old was finding himself marooned in his own home more and more often, passed off between babysitters. At least today it was the hot, video-game-playing, drummer-chick. Stan was nice and all, and an awesome cook, but there was something about him that still creeped Jason out.

He glanced over at the couch, where Emma was sitting and, grinning slyly, cleared his throat. Emma made no move indicating she had heard him. Frowning slightly, he tried again. Failing to gain her attention, he waved and shouted, "Emma!"

Slowly, Emma pulled her head up from the magazine and gave Jason a bored, uninterested look. Undeterred, Jason grinned. "I'm making lunch," he said indicating his half-made PB&J. "May I interest the lady in a delightful creamy peanut and fresh strawberry preserve treat?"

"No."

Emma went back to reading her magazine and Jason dropped his arms with a sigh of defeat. He finished his sandwich and went over to the couch, sitting next to Emma. He took a bite out of his sandwich and with a full mouth asked, "Wha'tch y' 'eading?"

Emma glanced over at Jason, who grinned. Emma grimaced at the gooey mess in his mouth and quickly raised her magazine, shifting away from Jason.

Undaunted, Jason tried again. "Want to go up to Charlie's room and play Hero Rising?"

This seemed get Emma's attention, who looked over at him, appraising. "You any good?"

Jason grinned. "Well, actually I consider myself to be quite the--."

"Oh, forget it. I don't care. Let's just go play." She got up and headed to Charlie's room. Giddy, Jason jumped off the couch to follow her, his lunch falling to the ground, forgotten.

* * * * * * * * * *

Aaron and Stan quickly and quietly made their way through the eerie, deserted corridors of Hall Industries, their light footsteps little more than whispers. Guards and employees that had been present at his last visit, a mere 2 days ago, were suspiciously absent.

The place seemed abandoned. There had been no one to hail their approach on Hall's compound, or to meet them at the landing dock. Inside, the telltale blinking lights on the numerous security cameras had gone dark and the scattered emergency lights cast long, sinister shadows along the hallway.

Aaron ran silently, his eyes sweeping the corridors as he flew by, searching for anyone's presence as he and Stan made their way to Hall's office. He didn't like this at all. He'd been expecting to join a fight, not to have to go find it. He couldn't help but think… what if---.

Aaron grit his teeth and surged forward with a burst of speed, ignoring the stiffness in his side. As they ran under a flickering fluorescent, Aaron caught sight of something in an open doorway, pulling to a halt. He'd thought he'd seen something move. He cautiously peeked through the open doorway, squinting to try to see through the darkness.

There, on the floor. It looked like a small blaster, the glossed surface picking up some of the light spilling in from the corridor. He flicked on the light from his gauntlet, illuminating the room.

"Hhh—."

Aaron's eyes widened as he let out a gasp of air, starring in horror at the sight before him. The blaster that had so discreetly caught his attention was clutched in the lax grip of one of Hall's guards, a large dark puddle seeping out from beneath the dead man's head. Aaron could feel the bile rising in his throat, and gulped heavily.

Two other guards lay slumped against dark control panels, and a third person was lying further back in the room. Aaron started as his beam swept across the body, revealing a woman he'd probably seen during his visits to Hall Industries, one of the employees. He wondered if he'd ever said hello.

Realizing he'd been holding his breath, he let out a strangled burst of air. His breathing quickened and he took a few unsteady steps backwards, but someone was blocking his way. He whipped around, gauntlet ready and found the sorrowful face of Stan gazing back at him. Eyes wide and scared, he lowered the gauntlet.

"Stan—."

He didn't know what to say. Stan cast a mournful glance around the room, then turned back to Aaron and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We need to find Mr. Hall. Now more than ever," the android said sadly.

Aaron glanced back into the room, and then quickly turned away as his stomach lurched. He glanced back out to the hallway, toward the long dark corridor where the people responsible for this most likely were waiting. He wondered how many more people _they_ had killed. The Omega Defiance. He didn't think he'd ever hated them more than he did in that moment. He also didn't think he'd ever been so scared of them. Before, he'd always still held on to the notion that he was just pretending to be a hero, pretending to be Aaron Stone. That he was somehow stepping into his favorite videogame.

"We need to move now." Stan said, interrupting his thoughts. Aaron turned his head and just starred at Stan. Stan's grip on his shoulder tightened briefly. "Mr. Hall needs you. The world needs you. Are you ready, Aaron Stone?"

Aaron took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes. The problem was this wasn't a videogame. And this wasn't pretend. He really was Aaron Stone.

He nodded to Stan and they both took off back down the hallway, searching for Mr. Hall.

* * *

They finally reached Mr. Hall's office, approaching it cautiously. Hidden in the shadows around the corner, Aaron paused, noticing movement. He held out a hand to Stan, motioning for him to freeze. A man walked casually past the office door, a large blaster poised in his arms. Aaron's eyes narrowed. The man was suited in one of Hall Industries' guard uniforms, but something felt off to Aaron. The base had been attacked. So why was this guard still merely guarding an office?

Stan peeked over his shoulder and the android smiled. "I know him. That's Joe." Stan moved past Aaron to greet the guard. Aaron tried to grab him, but missed.

"Stan!" he whispered fiercely. "Wait!"

"Joe!" Stan called loudly. "It's good to see someone--."

Aaron caught sight of it as Joe turned to face Stan. There, on the back of his neck, was a small bug-like contraption. "Cerebella," he whispered to himself. He was already moving as the guard started to raise his blaster, shoving the surprised android aside as the mind-altered man squeezed the trigger. He could feel the heat from the laser pass by him.

As he hit the floor, he rolled, coming up and shooting a few blasts from his gauntlet. The man went down, knocked out for a good while. With a wince, he stood up. That move had really jarred his side and a dull throb had started up. Aaron stared at the fallen guard for a moment, flashes of the dead guards coming to mind. Unlike the Omega Defiance, his weapons were generally non-lethal.

Breathing hard from the adrenaline and pain, he glanced back at Stan. The android was picking himself up, looking shocked. "Next time I say wait, Stan… Wait!" Aaron bit out, aggravated.

Stan looked guilty and nodded. "I will definitely do that, Aaron Stone."

Aaron sighed and glanced around. "We need to get out of here. Someone must have heard that."

"Indeed."

Both Aaron and Stan whipped around, startled. Aaron raised his gauntlet, only to find himself looking at Mr. Hall, who was standing in the now open doorway to his office. He quickly lowered the gauntlet, looking at the videogame-creator in surprise. "Mr. Hall?!"

Mr. Hall glanced at both of them, though his gaze lingered slightly on Aaron's bruised face. "As you can see, this facility has been compromised. Right now this place is crawling with Omega's minions. Someone will likely be here any second."

Mr. Hall went back into his office. "Follow me," he called.

Still surprised to find that the man was actually _still_ in his office, Aaron followed him dazedly, San bringing up the rear.

"Mr. Hall? Why--?" Mr. Hall held up a hand to silence him, then went over to a picture frame on a far wall. He quickly placed his hand in the center and the painting turned opaque, a mass of blue lines running under his palm, scanning his hand. Aaron watched in awe as the wall suddenly caved in slightly, then whooshed open.

"This way," Mr. Hall said simply, and all three disappeared into what appeared to be a secret passageway.

Inside, Aaron found himself in a dark tunnel. The walls were cold and damp. An unpleasant odor of dust and mildew permeated the small space. The three of them could only walk single-file, with Mr. Hall leading the way. Aaron held out his gauntlet, illuminating the way ahead as much as possible with Mr. Hall's tall form in front of him. He heard a small pop, then a low whirring sound behind him. Curious, he turned to look over his shoulder at Stan. The android's eyes had turned a bright, luminescent green, which actually made him extremely creepy, Aaron decided.

Stan caught his stare and grinned proudly. "Night Vision," he explained happily. "Isn't it totally nifty?"

Aaron rolled his eyes, but had no time to make a comment as he suddenly rammed into something. Taking a surprised step backward, he looked up to find Mr. Hall had finally stopped. Mr. Hall looked over his shoulder and Aaron smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

Thinking they had reached their destination, Aaron opened his mouth to ask Mr. Hall where they were, but a raised hand silenced him. He was standing close enough that he was able to see the elusive man's shoulders suddenly tense up. Frowning, Aaron peered around Mr. Hall, but could see nothing but a continuous corridor.

"Put out your light, Aaron," the man said quietly. Confused, Aaron did as he was ordered. They all remained silent for a few long moments, and Aaron heard what he assumed had halted Mr. Hall. Voices, faint but growing closer could be heard, though were they were coming from Aaron had no idea.

He heard Mr. Hall move slightly, then a small metallic ping. A moment later Aaron jumped, startled, as the entire wall to their right suddenly disappeared, revealing several Omega Defiance thugs.

Shocked, Aaron scrambled backwards, his back hitting the opposite wall, and raised his weapon. Before he could fire, a hand suddenly shot out, grabbing his wrist. Aaron turned to stare at Mr. Hall, who merely shook his head once, bringing his other hand up to indicate that they all be silent.

Still surprised and extremely confused, Aaron turned back to where a wall had been only moments before. His confusion heightened as the two heavily armed thugs came to a stop, no more than a few feet away, but seemed completely oblivious to their presence.

Narrowing his eyes, Aaron took a longer look at where the wall had been moments ago. His eyes widened as he realized the wall was still there, he was just looking _through_ it. Now that he had calmed down, he saw that the entire wall had not, in fact, disappeared. It seemed what he'd set aside as a mere wall was actually a partition, made of some sort of material that could be turned opaque or transparent. Seeing as the two Omegas outside could not see them, it must act as a one-way mirror, much like the ones used in interrogation rooms. Only this one was disguised as part of the actual wall to any passer-bys.

Aaron lowered his gauntlet in understanding and Mr. Hall released his wrist. He glanced again at the transparent barrier, impressed, then focused on the two Omegas, who were conversing lowly. They were large, bulky fellows. He tried to figure out whose henchmen they were, but was saved the trouble as the man suddenly appeared from around a corner, flanked by two more cronies.

Aaron's eyes narrowed to mere slits and his teeth clenched. Elias Powers. He'd take all seven of the Omegas at once over Powers. Again, the horrible scene he'd been met with after arriving flashed across his consciousness, the female employee doubled over, white lab coat stained red. He hated that man more than he ever thought it was possible to hate another human being.

He glanced at Mr. Hall, silently asking what to do. Mr. Hall met his gaze, expression grim, and shook his head slightly. Frustrated, Aaron turned back and watched as Elias Powers started barking orders.

"Keep looking," Powers was telling his men. He sounded angry, but his expression was aloof and calm.

"But what if—?" A thug mumbled hesitantly.

Elias turned to the man, his eyes narrowed, and just stared. The outspoken crony tensed, and Aaron could practically see the sweat from where they were observing. He could not blame the thug for looking down, unable to meet the dangerous gaze of Elias Powers.

"I said," Elias ground out, emphasizing each word, "_keep_ _looking_."

"Sir!" two of the men responded, quickly escaping to find whatever, or whomever Elias Powers had come here for.

Aaron watched as Elias Powers sighed. What are you looking for? He wondered to himself.

Suddenly Elias turned, and Aaron sucked in a breath as he realized the man was staring right at him. No, he told himself, not at _him_, at the wall. There was no possible way that Powers knew they were behind the false wall. It was just a coincidence he told himself, no matter how disconcerting.

Elias continued to stare at the wall for a few long moments, his glare unconsciously focused on Aaron. His anger was finally starting to show through, pure malice in the man's gaze.

One of his bodyguards suddenly spoke up. "They have located the item, sir."

Powers was still staring directly at him, and Aaron watched as the glare disappeared and a slow, evil smirk spread across Elias Power's face. An unconscious shiver ran down Aaron's spine.

"Excellent." Elias replied simply. He turned around and followed his bodyguards down the hall, disappearing around a corner.

Aaron let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Mr. Hall put a hand on his shoulder. "We're almost there. Let's hurry."

Aaron didn't know where "there" was, but he nodded anyway. He glanced at Stan, who looked as concerned as he was. He knew they were both probably worried about the same thing he was wondering about. What exactly had Elias Powers found?

By the time they reached the end of the passageway, Aaron's side was really starting to bother him, causing a slight hitch in his step as he tried not to jar his upper body. It turned out their destination was a central safe room that connected to the entire network of secret tunnels running through the base. It was huge, filled with weapons, equipment, and monitoring and computer systems that were actually running.

Mr. Hall noted Aaron's confusion as they stepped out and into the room. "This area is powered by a separate emergency power source," he explained, indicating a large generator-like device on the far end of the room. "Unfortunately, we still could not get out any long-distance communication. They severed all land lines and disrupted our satellite signals."

Aaron nodded absently, gazing around. The most relieving part about finally arriving in the safe room was the vast amount of employees and guards present. Aaron had been afraid most of Hall Industries people had suffered the same fate as the dead men and woman he and Stan had come across when first arriving.

He passed a man and a woman in the familiar white lab coats, these ones unstained with blood. He made sure to smile and say hello as he passed.

Mr. Hall greeted several relieved guards and employees, reassuring them he was fine and updating them on the situation. They all turned grim at the news that Elias Powers was back. As the guards explained the measurements being taken to combat the intruders and what areas hey had already secured, Aaron turned to Stan, who had been unusually quiet for a while.

"Stan?" he asked.

The android turned to him, gaze questioning. "Yes, Aaron Stone?"

"What do you think it is that Powers found?"

Stan frowned thoughtfully. "I'm not sure," he said at last. "However," he added, "I'm sure it is whatever Emma tracked their cyber attack to."

Aaron's eyes widened as he remembered Emma's successful hack of the intruder's attack on Hall's systems. "Do you have it Stan?" he asked eagerly. The android nodded. He turned back to Mr. Hall, knowing he needed to tell the man about what he knew.

Mr. Hall was explaining the need for caution, even among allies, and Aaron remembered Cerebella's mind-control of Hall's guard. He threw a wary glance around the expansive room.

"Do we have any idea what they are after, sir?" One of the guards was asking. "If so, we may be able to focus our efforts on securing that area."

Mr. Hall was shaking his head when Aaron decided to speak up. "We might know," he interrupted. Mr. Hall and the other men turned to him.

Aaron took a deep breath. "Emma was able to figure out exactly what systems they were going after and followed them to a particular security firewall."

Mr. Hall looked impressed. "So you know what they came here for?" he asked eagerly.

Aaron frowned. "Well, no. She was kicked out before she could see, but she did say that whatever it was classified as above top secret." He watched curiously as Mr. Hall and the one guard who seemed to be in charge exchanged a worried glance.

Mr. Hall turned back to him, his face firm and serious. Aaron absently noted this was the first time he'd seen the man not obscured in shadows. "Do you have the files from Dark Tamara?" he asked sternly.

Aaron had never heard the man so worked up and could do nothing but nod. He indicated Stan. "Stan has them in his hard drive."

Mr. Hall turned to a few employees and ordered them to take Stan and hook him up to one of the computers. Aaron watched, not really knowing what he could do to help. He was the person Mr. Hall went to for fieldwork and missions. He was at a loss of what to do with himself in here.

He watched the technicians as they helped Stan hook into the system, suddenly remembering something.

"Mr. Hall?" he asked tentatively, aware the man was understandably on edge.

The leader of Hall Industries was standing with his arms crossed, waiting for Stan to upload the information. "Yes, Aaron?" he answered absently.

Aaron felt bad for interrupting the man, but he wanted to make sure someone knew. "I--," he started, "when Stan and I were looking for you we found a room—." He looked down and clenched his teeth as he recalled the horrible site. When he glanced back up, Mr. Hall was watching him carefully, and his hard frown had disappeared. "East side corridor. Three of your men… and a woman. They were dead."

Mr. Hall bowed his head for a moment, then looked back at Aaron. "Thank you for notifying me, Aaron. The Omega's attack took us by surprise. We have suffered many losses." He turned to the head of security, who nodded and turned to give orders to a couple security personnel behind him.

He looked up to see that Mr. Hall was once again looking at him, brow furrowed. When he met his gaze Mr. Hall frowned. "I meant to ask you earlier, Aaron. How were you injured?"

Aaron looked at him oddly. Surely, despite all the chaos, Mr. Hall could remember the briefing Stan gave him on their disastrous mission.

Mr. Hall gazed at him, looking genuinely concerned. "Did you come across any more Omegas before the one outside my office?"

Aaron frowned, suddenly getting an odd feeling. "No…" he started, confused and not enjoying the pit of nervousness forming in his stomach on top of the ache in his side. "I was injured on the mission yesterday. Necros and Souljacker set a trap."

Aaron watched as Mr. Hall's frown of confusion slowly transformed into a worried and disturbed expression. "Stan said he gave you the report after the mission," Aaron said desperately, not liking where this was going.

Mr. Hall met his confused gaze squarely. "Aaron," he said gravely, "I didn't send you on any mission yesterday."

* * *

**See? not great or overly exciting, but it was all necessary. But I have more good news! I am almost done with the next part! My goal is to get it out right before/around christmas... maybe sooner, I dunno. It will be the chapter I think a lot of you have been waiting for, so keep an eye out! Thanks to everyone for reading and commenting! You are all great!**

**Oh! And someone asked about the title I believe? I promise it will be explained and make sense eventually. Later!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry… I really am. **** And no, I'm not dead… so I hope none of you will kill me. I do never update when I say I will and I apologize profusely. I got caught up in after-college bliss, the holidays, and was subsequently pulled back into the depressing "real world". Right now I am recovering from a random appendectomy (fun times) and am bored out of my mind and figured I should write! So, here it is. Thank my dearly departed appendix for this I suppose. And just to be clear to everyone reading…. I may be the most aggravating, undependable, and slowest updater…. but I always finish. :) As PlantyPie said, (funnily enough, today)this is a better-late-than-never-update!**

**Usual disclaimer: not mine, never will be, making zip money, blah, blah, blah**

**Be warned: this is really long. I would have cut it off somewhere in the middle, but then I think some of you might have killed me. Plus everything flowed better this way. And also…. You have all been waiting so long I felt I owed you something equally long… so it might take a while, but hope you enjoy it!!!**

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Emma was laughing evilly, enjoying the look of utter defeat on Jason's face. Her avatar, Dark Tamara, was once again dominating on Hero Rising. Terminus Mag, on the other hand, was getting up off the ground, again, on his third and final life.

Emma glanced over at Jason, grinning at her awesome streak. "So when is Big T. going to step up and pitch in?" Her face transformed into a mocking pout. "My poor avatar is getting tired."

Jason tried to act nonchalant, letting out a cool laugh. "Yeah, well… usually I—." He gasped as an enemy managed to sneak up behind him and blow his avatar to smithereens, leaving Big T in several piles of charred pixels. A giant, glaring Game Over further mocked him and he groaned.

Emma chortled in the background and Jason couldn't help but get caught up in her mirth. Besides, he was still just happy that she was actually consenting to hang out with him, no begging necessary. He grinned to himself, thinking that maybe Emma was finally starting to come around. He shrugged, smiling. "Some guys might be upset to lose to a chick—."

The laughter abruptly halted and Jason froze.

"Excuse, me?" A perfectly arched eyebrow rose threateningly.

"Girl… a girl." Jason quickly corrected, grinning sheepishly. "But I am okay with losing to you." He added quickly, throwing her his most charming smile.

Emma smirked. "Are you sure you're just not used to losing? I mean, Aaron Stone _is_ your brother."

Jason's smile fell as he turned back to the TV screen, where the avatar selection screen had popped up. His brother's world famous avatar spun slowly and he briefly pondered what would happen if he deleted the entire account. He shivered.

He sighed and put down his controller. "Yeah, well…" he said absently. It was true his older brother excelled at video games; and sports, school, attracting beautiful women. Pretty much anything Charlie tried, he was good at. Yes. Sometimes it was hard having "Aaron Stone" as his older brother.

"O-kay," Emma drawled out awkwardly. She gave Jason a warm smile when he looked at her. "So what do you want to do now?"

To say Jason was surprised she was still interested in being around him was an understatement, and he could do little more than shrug helplessly. Emma pursed her lips and Jason could see she was trying to come up with an idea. He loved it when she stuck out her lips like that. She jumped up suddenly with an excited _Oh, _startling him out of his reverie.

"Let's go out and get some Pinkberry?" she said, digging through her pockets.

Jason's eyes widened, his mind stuck on _go out_.

"Freddy snagged me a few coupons for free frozen yogurt. Now where did I --- ah ha!" She pulled out a couple wrinkled papers. "Got them!" she said triumphantly.

She finally caught Jason's wide-eyed stare. "What?" she asked shortly.

Jason grinned goofily. "Just you and me?" he asked hopefully.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Just you and me, two _friends_ getting some frozen yogurt together."

Jason's smile fell slightly. Not one to be deterred, he stood and went over to Emma, placing a hand on her shoulder. She eyed him warily. "When you're ready, I'll be waiting for you."

He found himself suddenly clutching his left shoulder as Emma landed a solid punch before walking past him.

"Come on!" she called impatiently.

Jason mouthed a silent OW, still griping his shoulder. He was in pain, but he was also grinning. Oh yeah, he thought to himself, she is definitely falling for the Jason.

As he followed after Emma, he passed by his room. He remembered Charlie's promise to help him rebuild his wall shelf and decided he'd go ahead and start by picking up the necessary items. He and Emma were going out anyway, and there was a Home Depot right down from the Pinkberry. Besides, if he waited for Charlie to do every little thing his shelf would never get fixed. His brother always seemed to be busy lately.

When he and Charlie had looked at it earlier, he remembered his brother saying they would have to buy new wall brackets that fit the poles that provided the support for the shelf. He darted into his room and grabbed the pole in question. He had no idea what size brackets to buy. He figured the people at the store would know if he showed it to them. Decided, he headed downstairs, clutching the long pole in his right hand. He winced slightly when it banged into the doorway behind him.

When he reached the foyer, he found Emma waiting for him, one foot tapping. She raised an eyebrow when she saw what he was holding. "What's with the weapon?" she asked bluntly.

"It's for my shelf. Charlie said he'd help me fix it," he explained.

He suddenly looked up, thinking of his older brother. "They've been at the doctor's for a while now. You think Charlie is okay?"

Emma waved a hand, unconcerned. "Of course! It's probably just a really long wait since they didn't have an appointment."

"You think we should call him?" he asked hesitantly.

"No!" Emma shouted, startling Jason. He looked at her oddly, but she was already smiling again. "Let's just let Stan handle it and go do something. Just you and me…"

Jason grinned, realizing Emma was right. He was still a little worried about Charlie, but nothing would make him feel better then hanging out with the love of his life. "Anyway, I was kind of hoping we could swing by the Home Depot and pick up some parts for the shelf?" He inquired hopefully.

Emma shrugged. "Sure." Jason smiled and went to move by her, but Emma threw her arm out. He frowned. "Leave the pole-thingy."

"But I don't know what size—," Jason was cut off as Emma pulled out a crinkled piece of paper. There was a pen lying on the table in the foyer, which she also grabbed. Holding it over one end of the pole, she traced the circumference, then handed the sheet to Jason.

"There," she said impatiently.

He took it gingerly, then grinned at her. "Cute and smart," he said wonderingly. Emma let out an exasperated sigh, but she was smiling.

"Come on, lover boy."

Jason nodded and leaned the pole up against the foyer wall, pausing for a second to make sure it stayed put. It did, and paper in hand, he followed Emma out the front door, slamming it shut behind him as he called for Emma to wait up.

Unbeknownst to Jason or Emma, the slamming of the door had caused the precociously placed pipe to slowly slide across the wall, leaving deep scrapes in the paint before gravity finally got a firm hold on it. It went crashing into the mirror on the wall, which shattered as it fell off and onto the small foyer table. Everything on the table was crushed or swept off onto the floor as the pipe rolled across it, before finally settling on the ground, amid a mess of glass and other broken pieces.

* * *

_Mr. Hall met his confused gaze squarely. "Aaron," he said gravely, "I didn't send you on any mission yesterday."_

Charlie paused, looking at Mr. Hall, bemused. He suddenly had a very bad feeling about all of this. "What do you mean you didn't send me on a mission?" he asked. "I went to the coordinates you sent, I ran into Necros and Souljacker, and I got my ass handed to me."

Mr. Hall looked at him strangely and Charlie briefly wondered if one of the Omega's had already gotten to him, altered his memory somehow. _How could he not know about yesterday?_ Stan had said the call had come directly from Mr. Hall. Stan didn't make mistakes like that.

Mr. Hall stared at Charlie with a concerned frown. "I have no knowledge of any mission taking place last night, Aaron."

Charlie gave a cheerless laugh. "No. That's not possible." He studied Mr. Hall's expression, imploring him to remember. Mr. Hall merely stared back, stony-faced.

He shook his head in bewilderment. "I don't understand… the mission came directly from you!" he said, practically shouting.

Mr. Hall's brow furrowed, as he seemed to think for a moment. "Aaron--," he began carefully, "Did you receive the mission through your game?"

Aaron was still not sure what was going on. He shook his head. "No… Stan said that you—." He cut off as he saw Mr. Hall's frown turn into a look of grim understanding. His eyes widened. Whirling around, he saw him across the room. The android was standing with the technicians, chatting animatedly while they hooked him up to various machines, preparing to pull information from his hard drive.

Stan. Suddenly, little moments he'd initially written off as Stan being his usual awkward self came to the forefront of his mind. His lapses in attention, sudden mood switches, odd disappearances; all these things suddenly made horrible sense. He looked over toward Stan, eyes wide in disbelief.

It was Stan. Stan was their mole. Stan had shown up, told him there was a mission, and taken him to an isolated, abandoned area on purpose, setting up the ambush. It all made horrible sense. Somehow, at some point, they'd gotten to the android. And he had had no idea.

He jerked suddenly as Stan turned, looking straight at him. The android smiled widely. Aaron could do little more than stare back in shock. How many times had he seen that same smile and allowed himself to be reassured that his companion had his back? And how many times, after he turned around, had the android stabbed him in the same place? He watched as Stan's smile faltered slightly, a look of confusion taking over his face.

A hand suddenly gripped his shoulder, squeezing. Obediently, Aaron took a breath and schooled his features, managing what he hoped was a convincing enough smile to reassure Stan.

Apparently it was good enough for the android. Stan once again grinned, obviously immensely proud to be able to help Mr. Hall in such a crucial time of need.

As the android turned back to the technicians, Mr. Hall's hand left his shoulder and he heard the man start speaking in hushed tones to the two guards at his side. Aaron wasn't listening. He just watched Stan, wondering how it was possible to feel so betrayed by what was basically just a machine.

The two guards passed by Aaron, moving with purposeful strides toward Stan. He vaguely watched as one casually leaned in to talk to one of the technicians, but his main focus was on the second guard, who held a small electronic device. He watched, detached, as Stan turned to see who was behind him only to be met with a hard slam to his chest as the device was pushed into his heart, or the android equivalent. Stan's eyes widened slightly in surprise as his robotic body twitched and shuddered, and Aaron turned away to avoid the look of confusion and hurt that overcame the android's features. After all, he was the one who had been betrayed. Why should he feel guilty?

"Aaron."

Mr. Hall's voice broke through his daze and he looked up and into an unusually compassionate expression.

"We need to run a full diagnostic and see exactly what it is the Omegas were after both here at my base and inside Stan. It is likely the two are connected." Aaron said nothing, so Mr. Hall continued.

"Come here."

Without realizing it, he allowed himself to be led away from Stan and into a less populated area of the giant panic room. He vaguely realized Mr. Hall was attempting to gently guide him into a chair and sat down heavily.

"Aaron?" Aaron looked up at Mr. Hall slowly, still a little shell-shocked. "Aaron, I need you to go over the past few missions with me. We need to figure out how they got to Stan."

Aaron leaned forward, rubbing the heels of his palms over his eyes. "Yeah," he mumbled.

"I want you to walk me through the last few days. The missions. What stood out to you?"

Aaron found he really didn't want to do this right now, wishing Mr. Hall would just go away and leave him alone for a little while. "Can't you just go over the mission reports?"

"Those were written by Stan."

Aaron winced. _Oh yeah_, he thought. He guessed those were no longer viable.

"From this point on we will think of those as corrupt data," Mr. Hall explained, confirming Aaron's thoughts. "Besides, those are through _his _eyes, I need you to tell me what _you_ saw, heard, or even smelled. Think back, were there any incidents that may have struck you as odd... out of place?"

Head in hands, Aaron groaned to himself. "I dunno…" he complained. It looked like Mr. Hall wasn't going to let him be.

"_Think_, Aaron. This is important!"

Aaron sat up and met Mr. Hall's stern gaze with a glare of his own. "I know that."

Mr. Hall didn't back down. "Then you know I need your help. Just try to remember anything, no matter how minor it seems. You were chosen to become Aaron Stone for a reason. Trust your instincts."

Aaron didn't think his instincts had served him very well thus far. Shouldn't they have told him something was wrong? _They did_, an annoying voice told him. Looking back, he knew the voice was right. He just hadn't listened to himself.

Knowing this time he had to try, Aaron remembered for Mr. Hall. Like watching a news reel, he begun to recall every moment when he'd questioned Stan's action or inaction, every time the android gave a weirder-than-normal comment, each glitch he witnessed Stan go through, and all his disappearing acts.

As each event played out, he realized he _had_ tried to do something about Stan. First, he had attempted to confide his suspicions in Mr. Hall, but had been untimely interrupted. Then he remembered having Emma run a diagnostic on the android. Emma had performed the robot check-up per his request.

A sinking realization filled him as he realized that it must have triggered something in Stan that led to the destruction of Emma's laptop and half of her house. Aaron wanted to kick himself as he remembered the android coming into the house that morning, wearing a dark sweat pant outfit, like Emma had described of her attacker. He felt like he was partially to blame for what Emma had gone through.

Aaron straightened up, now even more determined to figure out when everything had gone so wrong. With a deep breath, he began telling Mr. Hall everything that had transpired over the long weekend.

Aaron spent the next hour and a half going over every mission with Mr. Hall in painstaking detail, paying special attention to what Stan had been doing. Both he and Mr. Hall had decided that the first hacking attempt had most likely occurred at the storage house where he had run into Cerebella and Xero. It made sense, especially since Xero was the Omega Defiance's computer genius.

The latest mission, the one not assigned by Mr. Hall, was obviously when they pulled out most of their information, having had more time to do so while Aaron was knocked unconscious.

Mr. Hall stood from where he'd been sitting across from Aaron, patting him on the shoulder. "Good job, Aaron. Believe it or not that will help us a lot in figuring out what they did to Stan and what exactly they are after."

Aaron gave a non-committal grunt, exhausted from a lack of sleep, non-stop missions, his healing injuries, and just the emotional toll this entire mess was wreaking on him.

Aaron just wanted to go home and sleep. Holding onto that thought he asked Mr. Hall when they would be able to leave this very large and well stocked panic room.

"Everyone can leave once I receive the all-clear from all the groups I sent out to secure the base."

Aaron nodded mutely. "Any sign of Cerebella or Xero? Or any of the other Omegas?" he asked, wondering if this had been another team-up attack from the Defiance.

Mr. Hall shook his head. "No. Not this time… It appears Powers came alone, though it is obvious the Defiance is behind him. He had Cerebella's mind-altering technology at his disposal and," he threw one of the weapons they had found down on the table next to them, ", _this_ has Xero written all over it."

Aaron looked over at the weapon. Mr. Hall was right, Xero was _literally_ written all over it. His logo, which was a design featuring only his name, was placed all over the gun. "I guess when his brain grew larger so did his ego."

Nodding absently, Mr. Hall crossed his arms, a pensive frown on his face. "It is interesting that the Omegas are working together… But that isn't what is bothering me the most about all of this." Mr. Hall revealed.

Aaron looked at him, bemused, wondering what could possibly be more troubling then the entire Omega Defiance suddenly starting to work together. They were formidable enough when Aaron had to fight them one-on-one. He was not looking forward to facing all seven members concurrently.

"I want to know what Elias Powers has to do with all of this," the man mused.

Aaron frowned. "What do you mean? He works for the Defiance."

"Exactly," Mr. Hall uttered keenly, "yet in the past few days, the other members have broken into two-man groups while Powers is trusted to roam by himself. They even let him stage an attack on my base by himself, when I know that is what they have all wanted since the day my idea of a Think Tank failed." Mr. Hall sighed, obviously exasperated. "It just doesn't make any sense."

Thinking about it, Mr. Hall had a point. The Omega Defiance had been acting completely off-script the past few days. And as far as they could tell, Elias Powers was the only presence that could explain that. "So what does it all mean?"

Mr. Hall said nothing for a few minutes, thinking. Finally, he alleged, "I'm guessing Powers may have inserted himself deeper into the trust of the Omega Defiance than I had assumed. I knew Elias for many years, and all of this, it seems more like something he would do then the Defiance."

"How is that possible?" Aaron asked. "The Omega Defiance would never listen to someone who hadn't taken the intelligence serum."

"True," Mr. Hall admitted, "the serum has made them exceedingly arrogant, placing all others beneath their intelligence… But Elias Powers was always brilliant. Even without the serum. And now his implant has made him one of the most formidable minds in the world, easily able to compete on the Omega Defiance's level… You remember of course that Elias Powers was once a valuable employee here?" He asked, addressing Aaron.

He nodded thoughtfully, not sure where this was going.

Mr. Hall smiled faintly. "He was one of the most intelligent people I'd ever met. His analytical skills were amazing, and he worked his way up to become my top programmer and designer very quickly."

"He designed Hero Rising," Aaron stated. It had really bothered him when he'd first learned that fact.

"Not _just_ Hero Rising… To him, that was child's play…. No… He designed everything." He indicated Aaron's uniform. "The base design for your suit is actually based on one of Power's early drafts for a similar item that was never put into production."

Aaron looked down at his suit, surprised to hear that Elias Powers had designed something else that was frequently used to stop evil and hold back the immoral group of villains he now worked with.

"Many of the schematics Emma studies for inspiration are from Elias's days at Hall Industries." Mr. Hall shook his head, smiling slightly. "A truly brilliant man." he said almost proudly.

Aaron's brow furrowed, remembering Power's threats against his family. "If by brilliant you mean psychotic."

Mr. Hall chuckled humorlessly. "Perhaps that _is_ a better description… After the idea for a Think Tank ended in the formation of the Omega Defiance, I asked Elias to make Hero Rising, hoping to find someone someday that could help me take them down." He looked at Aaron. "Help me to fix the problems I'd caused."

Aaron didn't know if he should say anything, so he just nodded, waiting for the man to continue. He knew there must be a reason Mr. Hall was telling this all to him.

"Elias came to me soon afterward, with new designs and inventions for Hall Industries. All of them equally as brilliant as the next." The owner of Hall Industries sounded almost impressed.

Knowing Powers, Aaron narrowed his eyes. "Designs for what?" he asked suspiciously

Mr. Hall smiled sadly. "They were designs for state of the art weapons: From small handheld devices that linked to the user's thoughts; to behemoth creations capable of wiping out entire cities."

Aaron wasn't surprised. But something had caught his attention. His eyes widened and he leaned forward as he came to a realization. "You mean—?"

"Yes. The gauntlet was originally designed by Elias Powers."

Sitting back in his chair, Aaron contemplated this bit of information. He brought his right arm up, gazing at his gauntlet, probably his favorite part of his uniform, in his video game and on his missions.

"I had created the think tank to mend the world's problems and dependence on violence and weaponry. What Powers was suggesting was unacceptable to me…So I ignored all of the ideas he sent to me and kept him busy by having him put his intellect and skills into tracking the Omega Defiance and learning everything he could about them, so he could then incorporate it into the game."

Aaron nodded thoughtfully. "But he found out too much, didn't he?" he asked knowingly.

Mr. Hall nodded. "Obviously, I should have been more careful. I knew Elias Powers better than almost anyone. He was a genius, and he knew it. He was extremely prideful of his work and he liked being the smartest man in the room… There were several occasions where he announced his dislike of having to work under me; someone he felt was far inferior to him… He got to know the Omega Defiance through his work, and eventually I suppose decided he could do more for himself working for them than he could working for me."

Mr. Hall scoffed, shaking his head in aggravation. "In the end, he got part of his wish." Aaron looked at him curiously. "Many of his designs were used to build your suit and produce our weapons arsenal for defense," Mr. Hall explained.

All of a sudden, Mr. Hall looked older, and the usually emotionless man looked disheartened and almost ashamed. Then the man cleared his throat and the stoic, stern T. Abner Hall of Hall industries was back.

"The last time I saw him was when he asked to be the hero of Hero Rising."

Aaron's eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly as he stared at Mr. Hall in shock. _Had he heard right_, he thought?

The man nodded grimly. "He wanted to be you, Aaron. He'd designed the suit, weapons, vehicles, and even laid out plans to engage the Omega Defiance. He had everything thought out meticulously, and having designed the game, felt he was the best candidate for the job."

Aaron was still getting over his surprise, and frowned. "But you obviously said no."

Mr. Hall nodded. "While he seemed like the most likely decision, he lacked the reflexes, the combat skills, your instincts, and… well you played against him on the game. Even his intricate and advanced knowledge of Hero Rising were no match for you."

Aaron felt a flush of pleasure at the rare praise.

"Besides, Mr. Hall continued, "His reasons were for fighting were wrong... He wanted to become the hero so he could prove how intelligent and superior he was to everyone else…. So he could prove himself to be the most intelligent man in the world, even without the serum, he had said."

Mr. Hall sighed. "He didn't understand why a hero was needed. He didn't care about all the innocent people in the world he would be protecting. Elias just didn't have anyone he cared about enough to understand what it is to want to protect someone."

Aaron thought about that, and though he hated it, felt a small tug of pity for Powers. But regardless of how sad Elias Power's past might be, the man was now a potent threat to not only his family, but the entire world as well. He needed to be taken care of.

At that moment, a guard came up and asked to speak to Mr. Hall, effectively ending their conversation. Aaron used the pause to reflect on everything Hall had just taught him about Elias Powers, the man's intense hatred for him suddenly making a lot more sense.

Glancing down at his suit and gauntlet, he wondered how such a brilliant man could _logically_ decide that joining the Omega Defiance sounded like a good idea. He pictured Emma, who was the smartest person he knew, and tried to think of her going all evil, mad-weapons-specialist. He smirked. Though she had her scary moments, the evilest thing he could see her doing was planting a virus in the school's computer system that messed with all their systems.

Aaron was halted from contemplating the matter any further when Mr. Hall came back, telling him that the base had been cleared and Powers and his Omega Defiance goons, at least the ones who hadn't been captured, had gotten away.

Aaron was relieved to hear this, but hen noted Mr. Hall gazing at him thoughtfully, as if contemplating something. "What's wrong?" he finally asked.

He watched as Mr. Hall looked across the room, and Aaron reluctantly followed his gaze. A powered-down Stan still sat slumped in a chair, wires poking out of him as several technicians moved around him, taking readings and studying his systems. "We need to figure out what kind of game the Omega Defiance is playing," Mr Hall said carefully.

Aaron gazed at the lifeless android. "So… you need to know why they went after Stan?" Aaron stated simply.

With a small nod, Mr. Hall continued, "We know they came here for a reason. They were after something specific, and we need to know what that was."

"You didn't notice anything missing?"

"Not yet. We need to talk to Stan. He might be able to tell us."

"You don't need me for that," Aaron mumbled, silently begging Mr. Hall to let him leave.

"You've been with Stan for a while now. I do need you for this."

Aaron sighed, never really having expected the man to have mercy. He nodded mutely and followed Mr. hall back over to the techs and to Stan.

One of the technicians, obviously the one in charge, came over and shook Mr. Hall's hand, and started to explain what they were doing to study the android.

"What did they do to him?" he asked softly, interrupting. Mr. Hall and the technician both turned to him.

The technician looked at Mr. Hall, who nodded his permission. "As far as we can tell so far, the hacks have been used to both pull information out of your android and also insert foreign programming into his hard drive."

Aaron looked confused.

"Essentially, they were also planting viruses," the man clarified. "They seemed to be using them to cause preplanned responses, like the fake mission he sent you on… and to react to certain triggers."

Aaron frowned at the technician curiously. "What were the triggers?"

The technician pushed his glasses up his nose nervously. "We aren't quite sure. We need to perform a few more tests now, and," he glanced at Mr. Hall briefly, "well—."

"They would like you to talk to Stan so they can observe your interaction and make sure _you _were not a trigger… and thus a target." Mr. Hall finished for his technician.

Of course they do, he thought sourly. He sat down in the chair across from Stan that another tech had pulled out for him.

"Ready?" Mr. Hall asked, indicating one of the computer techs to power Stan back on.

Aaron wanted to point out to Mr. Hall that he hadn't said 'yes' yet, but doubted the billionaire and mastermind behind Hall Industries would care. With a soft click, Stan's body suddenly jerked back to life and his head straightened, becoming erect. His eyes, which had been white and empty, suddenly turned back into the perfect imitations of two dark blue irises. The effect resembled an old tube television turning on, and was somewhat unnerving.

Aaron watched, wishing he were somewhere else, as Stan looked around in confusion before attempting to move. A shrill beep sounded and the android merely jerked slightly forward, bobbling for a second. The android's puzzlement turned to alarm as he looked down at his chest to see a small device shoved into his circuitry. The same that had loudly protested to his attempted movement.

His eyes wide, he turned his questioning gaze to Aaron. "What is going on, Aaron?" He tried another unsuccessful attempt to move, this time attempting to lift his arm. Another loud beep accompanied the attempt. "What is this device?" He looked at Aaron imploringly, and Aaron thought he could hear Stan's circuits grinding as the android attempted to make sense of the situation.

Aaron suddenly found himself unable to speak, and even if he could have, he didn't know what to say. Thankfully, Mr. Hall saved him the trouble of coming up with the words.

"Sorry, Stan."

Aaron was surprised to hear that Mr. Hall did sound genuinely apologetic.

"It would seem that the Omega Defiance has somehow been hacking your system for information on Hall Industries." Aaron watched, as Stan's face seemed to crumble as Mr. Hall went on. "I'm afraid until we know exactly what they were after, you will have to wear that restraining device, for safety purposes," Mr. Hall finished.

Stan seemed bewildered. "I do not see how that is even possible. In order to access my system they would need both the time and codes to—."

"We have already found foreign programs download into your server," Mr. Hall cut in firmly. "As well as the traces of hacks made into your main hard drive."

Stan's eyes were wide with disbelief.

"I'm sorry, Stan. Until we know more details about what exactly the Omega Defiance planned to use you for, we are going to have to keep you restrained."

Stan lowered his head and nodded dejectedly. The android looked miserable, an expression Aaron had seldom seen on Stan's face. "Of course." He said softly.

Mr. Hall indicated the small, invasive device over Stan's "heart". "I can have one of the technicians program that later to allow you basic program and motor functions. You will be blocked from other parts of your memory and hard drive, however."

Aaron watched Stan carefully as he nodded slightly. "Thank you, Mr. Hall."

The android did not meet Mr. Hall's eyes, or, Aaron realized, could not. He realized now how guilty the android must be feeling. After all, Stan was one of the few employees of Hall industries that had access to all its secrets and innermost workings. A technician came and pulled Mr. Hall away to discuss something, leaving Aaron virtually alone with Stan, if you didn't count the observing techs glues to their monitors.

"I am sorry, Aaron."

Aaron looked up, noting that Stan was staring guiltily at the large bruise on his face. "I'm a computer. I can "see" what they have been looking at and why. That was my fault."

Aaron reached up and prodded the wound absently. It still smarted a bit, but the bruise itself was healing quickly. Vaguely, he remembered Stan calmly standing over him, taking extreme care with each wound, no matter how small, belying his robotic heart.

"Are Emma and her family alright?"

Aaron looked up at the soft question. "Yeah. Yeah they're good," he said equally quiet. Stan looked miserable.

He began to smile, ready to reassure the android, but then he thought about all the times Stan had been around him, his friends, and his family. His smile faltered thinking of how he'd unknowingly put them all in danger. And then he recalled Stan as he told Aaron calmly that he had another mission, leading him into the heart of an Omega Defiance ambush. He remembered waking up to one of his best friend's screams, and stumbling through her burning house as they both succumbed to the smoke and heat. He saw the bloody bodies of men and women who had been alive only hours ago, before intel gathered from the android in front of him led to their brutal murders.

Aaron didn't want to be angry with Stan. He knew that Stan was loyal to a fault and had even come to view the android as a good friend. He was decent backup to have on missions and Aaron actually enjoyed having Stan stay at their house. Somehow it made the hole left by his father's absence seem more bearable.

However, he also knew that Stan, despite his human-like qualities, was still just a machine, and machines, no matter how advanced, were not always reliable. They were vulnerable, and no amount of loyalty on Stan's part could counter a skilled hack.

He fiddled with his hands, trying to stop their shaking, and stared at his lap as he tried to find something to say to the android. Everything had suddenly gone horribly wrong so fast that he was still a little shocked by all the events suddenly conspiring against them. From the direct attack on Hall Industries, to learning Stan, though unaware, was giving the Omega's everything they needed to usurp Mr. Hall. He felt like he needed a couple days just to process everything.

He clasped his shaky hands together firmly. He was nervous, upset that the Omegas had managed to get to the android on several occasions, embarrassed that he hadn't caught on to what was going on, and scared about what information they received on Hall Industries from the android's hard drive. When he'd seen Elias Powers in the hallway, he'd heard on of Power's guards say they had "found it". He wanted to know what "it" was.

His team was responsible for the information in Stan getting out and allowing the Defiance to find Mr. Hall and his hideout. Stan may have been the one hacked, but looking over the last few days, the odd moments and suspicions he'd had, he realized it was his fault as well. He had been so tired he'd lost his focus and ignored his instincts.

_Yeah_, he thought to himself. That is how he would choose to see it. He couldn't just be angry with Stan. He shared some of the blame as well. He gripped his hands tighter.

"It will be all right, Aaron."

Aaron looked up in surprised at Stan, who was gazing at him with a small, sad smile. Aaron was surprised by the amount of sincere pain and guilt flowing from the android, but also by the encouragement and confidence he saw there. Like many times before, it made Aaron wonder how he, a robot, could manage to convey such strong emotion.

_But he's more than just a robot_, he thought suddenly. Somewhere in his head, he could hear Stan correcting him with "android", and his lips quirked ever so slightly. Stan _was_ more. He had become a part of his family. Like a weird uncle or something; socially awkward and completely uncool, but there for you when you needed someone.

He suddenly recalled the time one of Necros's experiments caused his personality to split, making him act reckless and hurt his friends and family. Stan had put up with his mood swings, figured out something was wrong, and helped save him. He was going to do the same thing for Stan. He didn't deserve to be treated like just an android, not by Aaron.

"I know," he finally said. "We'll figure something out, right?" he said with a small smile. "After all, I think we make a pretty good team."

Stan nodded earnestly and smiled, though Aaron's eyes narrowed as Stan looked away quickly. "What is it?" he asked, suddenly concerned. He heard a small sniffle and his eyes widened. _Surely the android wasn't_—?

"Stan? Stan, are you crying?" he asked, taken aback. _Was it even possible_, he thought in bewilderment.

Stan finally looked back at him, and sure enough, dark amber tears had pooled in his eyes. Stan sniffed again, smiling sheepishly. "I apologize for my lack of decorum, Aaron." Stan tried to move his arm up to wipe away the "tears", but a small beep reminded him he was not allowed to move his appendages.

Aaron watched in shock as a lone, oily tear escaped. For the first time in what felt like forever, he laughed, shaking his head in wonder as he reached forward, using the edge of his sleeve to wipe away the oily tears.

"You really aren't _just_ a robot," he said as he plopped back into his seat, finally feeling a little lighter, less panicked.

"Android," Stan corrected absently.

Aaron grinned.

Mr. Hall appeared back at his side abruptly, and Aaron's smile fell at his grim expression. Whatever the Omega Defiance had gotten their hands on must be even more serious that he had imagined. The thought made Aaron's heartbeat quicken slightly in anticipation. Across from him, he saw Stan begin to look nervous again, his guilty expression back in place.

"What is it?" he asked tensely. "Did you find out what they were after?" No doubt the Omega Defiance had taken the time, risk, and effort to hack Stan in order to acquire some very sensitive information. Information that had allowed Powers to steal something very important from Hall Industries.

Looking at Mr. Hall's face, Aaron had a feeling he was about to find out exactly what that something was. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Stan bow his head and stare at the floor. He felt bad for Stan, who he knew regarded Mr. Hall not only as a great man and boss, but also as his creator.

"We still have people working on that. Right now, though I'm more concerned about something else."

The leader of Hall Industries took a deep breath, then met Aaron's gaze squarely. He seemed exhausted, on edge, and almost remorseful. Aaron's eyes narrowed, nervous about what kind of bad news warranted such an unusual reaction from the usually stoic man.

"We traced one of the most resent hacks to its destination and came across a specific memory file in Stan's hard drive," Mr. Hall began carefully. Aaron frowned, but a bad feeling was starting to form in his gut. "His personal memory files," Mr. Hall added pointedly.

He saw Stan twitch out of the corner of his eye and turned. Both of Stan's eyes were wide open, his mouth slack as he stared at Mr. Hall.

"Stan?" he asked nervously.

Stan turned to him, eyes still wide, looking almost more nervous and guilty than before. "My personal memory files contain a collection of all my own experiences."

He looked between both Stan's and Mr. Hall's dismal faces. "And?" he asked around a gulp, already fearing he knew the answer. He prayed he was wrong. After all, Mr. Hall had assured him all _that_ information was secure.

Stan looked at him, miserable. "And that is also the location of all information pertaining to you, Charlie Landers."

For a moment the world seemed to go completely silent. The sounds of machinery, computers and hundreds of voices suddenly disappeared and all he could hear was his maddeningly loud heartbeat, echoing and pounding. He couldn't believe this was happening, the one thing that terrified him more than anything. Suddenly he wasn't Aaron Stone anymore, just Charlie Landers, scared for his family and his friends. He bolted out of his seat and whipped around to glare at Mr. Hall accusingly. "You said you got rid of all that information!"

Mr. Hall held out two placating hands. "I did, Aaron. But Stan still knows everything about you and his memory files reflect that."

Charlie turned to look at Stan. Their discussion only a few moments ago was forgotten as he realized the android had let more than just Hall Industries' secrets slip through his circuits.

"It still shouldn't be possible." Stan broke in, sounding confused. "Those files are heavily encrypted and should be impossible to read even if someone were to download them from my server," he said desperately.

Charlie looked back to Mr. Hall, hopeful.

"That's true," Mr. Hall agreed, looking pensive as he gazed at Stan. "However—." He paused and glanced at Charlie. "Powers," he said simply.

Stan's eyes widened. "You believe _he_ could—."

"It's very possible," the man said grimly.

"So the Omega Defiance knows who I really am?!" Aaron yelled, horrified.

"Aaron, you need to calm down," Mr. Hall spoke calmly. "I said it's possible they were able to read the information. I can't be positive—,"

"But it _is_ possible?!" he interrupted. Even a slight chance was not something he was willing to risk or take lightly.

Mr. Hall sighed. "Yes, I'm afraid so."

"Damn it," Charlie muttered, fighting to calm his racing heart as he punched a few buttons on his suit, bringing up his communicator. He pulled the earpiece out of its compartment and placed it around his ear, listening as it rang, and then continued to ring.

Charlie was trying to call Emma, and was surprised and then worried when he couldn't get through. Emma always answered her phone, especially if he was out on a mission. Furthermore, she had been worried about Mr. Hall and probably waiting anxiously to hear what he and Stan had found out. So why wasn't she answering the phone? That train of thought made his stomach churn.

He called the house several times and then Jason's cell phone but it was no use, no one was answering. He shut off his communicator and turned to Mr. Hall, desperate. "They're not answering."

"Not even Dark Tamara?" he asked, surprised as well. Charlie shook his head uneasily.

Mr. Hall's grim frown deepened if possible. "Our communications system is finally back online. I have my people attempting to establish contact with the guards I stationed as your neighbors. They'll check the house, find Dark Tamara and your mother and brother."

Charlie was nodding absently, only half-listening to Mr. Hall. "No, wait," he said after comprehending Mr. Hall's last statement. "It's just my brother and I. My mom is out of town."

Mr. Hall frowned, but nodded, relaying the information to a guard who ran off to update whoever they had calling his new "neighbors".

Charlie sat there for a moment longer and then clenched his fists, not willing to wait any longer. He needed to get home and find Emma and Jason, make sure they were okay, and then make sure the Omega Defiance could never find them. Standing quickly, he turned to leave. "Send any updates you get from the neighbors to the SSJ. I have to go."

"Aaron!"

He turned at Mr. Hall's shout, impatient. He could see Stan gazing worriedly from behind the man in charge of Hall Industries.

"You can't go, Aaron." Mr. Hall said adamantly. "I need you here."

Disbelief colored Charlie's face as he looked at the man, trying to gauge if he was actually serious. "I have to go make sure my brother is okay." His tone was final as he tried once again to leave.

"Aaron!" Mr. Hall yelled harshly, striding forward toward Charlie. "If the Omega Defiance does know where you live, you could be walking right into a trap!"

Charlie glared, refusing to back down. "I don't care."

Mr. Hall sighed and gripped Aaron's shoulders. "Aaron, please be reasonable. You are one of the most valuable members of this company and an essential part in taking down the Defiance. When we find out what exactly they stole I need you for the mission to get it back."

"Well consider this me turning off Hero Rising for a while so I can get back to my real life." Charlie spat out angrily, enraged that Mr. Hall thought some mission was more important that making sure his family was safe.

Charlie found himself jerking in surprise as Mr. Hall's hands tightened on his shoulders and the usually calm man leaned into his person space, their noses barely an inch apart. "Hero Rising is _not_ just a game and you are _not _just Charlie Landers!" Mr. Hall's voice was low, but vehement. "You are _Aaron Stone_, and it is your job to defeat the Omega Defiance. You can't do that if you foolishly walk into another trap and get yourself killed!"

Charlie stared at Mr. Hall, incredulous, and also completely furious. He'd sacrificed a lot to become Aaron Stone, put himself and his friends and family at risk, and all to help Mr. Hall save the world. He believed in the cause. He'd come to terms with the changes in his life, dealt with the hardships. But he refused to let his life as Aaron Stone completely take over Charlie Lander's. And he didn't appreciate Mr. Hall implying that he should.

Fuming, he took a step back, shoving Mr. Hall's grip off his shoulders. He spoke tightly. "With all do respect, Mr. Hall, I didn't ask to be Aaron Stone. You're the one who basically kidnapped me, a teenager, in the middle of the night and then told me I had no choice but to help you save the world from your screw-ups!"

"Charlie!" he heard Stan protest.

Charlie ignored the android, "I have done _everything_ you have asked me to do," he declared loudly, hoping Mr. Hall didn't hear the slight shake in his voice. "For every mission, I become Aaron Stone for you because I believe in what you are trying to do."

Charlie took a deep breath. "But I _will not_ let you tell me what to do when it comes to my family and my friends. You can't order around Charlie Landers, too."

He did believe in Mr. Hall's cause and he was honored that the genius man trusted him enough to be his "hero". But Mr. Hall didn't seem to understand all the reasons he was dedicated to fighting the Omega Defiance.

"When we met you used my family to get me to agree to be your Hero Rising champion. To be Aaron Stone."

Mr. Hall opened his mouth to protest, but Charlie cut him off.

"You knew I'd give up anything to protect them and you made sure I thought the only way to save them was to join you."

Mr. Hall shook his head. "I didn't—."

"You did." Charlie interrupted calmly. "And it's a good thing, too." Mr. Hall looked surprised at this, but said nothing. "I don't know if I would have joined Hall Industries if I hadn't believed they were in danger."

Charlie shrugged. "The world's only worth saving if you have people you want to save it for."

Mr. Hall said nothing for a few moments, merely gazing at Charlie with an expression that was hard to read. Charlie held the man's gaze squarely, refusing to back down. He was angry at Mr. Hall, but he respected the man and wanted him to understand why he had to disobey him this time. Besides, he thought in fear, he is really going to need the creator of hero rising on his side if the Omega Defiance had finally discovered his true identity.

Finally, Mr. Hall sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in exhaustion. "Aaron—."

"Sir!"

A guard hurried over to them, skidding to a stop in front of Mr. Hall. "Sir, we were unable to establish any communication with the two undercover agents in Mr. Stone's neighborhood. We've hailed them repeatedly, but have not received any answer."

Charlie froze. _That's because they're already there_, he thought in panic. Trying to retain a semblance of calm, he turned abruptly and headed toward the exit. He heard Mr. Hall and Stan call out to him, probably telling him to wait, but he ignored them. He wouldn't leave Jason and Emma to the Omega Defiance.

Once outside the doors, he broke into a run, determined to get back home and save his little brother and his best friend. After all, if he wasn't able to keep his own family safe, what business did he have trying to save the world?

* * *

He burst onto the landing platform, breathing heavily, only to come face to face with Stan.

"Stan?!" Aaron gasped, out of breath. He glanced around, wondering how the android had beaten him back here.

Stan smiled slightly. "There is a shortcut through the south-side maintenance corridor that leads to the landing platform." He tapped his head. "I have the entire floor plan."

Aaron huffed in annoyance, brushing by the android and making his way to the waiting SSJ. "That's not all you have in there," he bit out harshly.

He regretted the comment as soon as it left his lips, but he was too concerned with getting back to Jason to try to take it back. He'd been able to forgive the android when it was Hall's secrets on the line. Selfish as it may be, it seemed harder when the secrets were his to loose.

In a flash of light particles, he found himself sitting in the SSJ. He brought the engines online and prepared to take off, desperate to get back home before the Omegas reached his brother. Any other option was not acceptable.

A soft pop to his right made him jump. He looked over at Stan, who calmly buckled himself in, as the engines' whines grew louder.

"Stan? Get out! You can't come with me!"

Stan avoided eye contact, and merely stared forward, adjusting a few dials on the consol.

"Stan!"

The android finally spoke softly. "It is my duty to protect Aaron Stone and assist you in any way possible. This could be dangerous, and you may need me to—."

"I wouldn't even be in this if it weren't for _you_!"

The harsh words, exclaimed loudly in a burst of anger echoed inside the small cabin of the SSJ. Aaron pressed his lips together to avoid any more explosions. Stan had finally met his gaze, and Aaron saw the anguish that a robot shouldn't be able to convey deeply etched in his features. Then everything turned blurry, and he realized he was only drawing in deep, quick bursts of air through his nose.

"Charlie." Stan said soothingly.

In a hot whoosh of air, Charlie let out a shaky breath. Then another. He continued until he knew he wouldn't break down.

"They know who I am, Stan. They found me. They found Charlie Landers," he said miserably. "Jason—."

"Will be fine," Stan said firmly, punching a few buttons on the console in front of him. "After all," he said brightly, "his brother _is_ Aaron Stone."

As the SSJ rose, Charlie watched Stan. He appreciated the android's effort to cheer him up and assure him everything was going to be okay.

"What about Mr. Hall?" he asked, suddenly remembering the device on Stan's chest and the diagnostics they had been running. "And what if—?" Charlie stopped at the guilty expression on Stan's face.

"They have already downloaded all my files. They don't need me right now." He glanced at the device on his chest. "As long as I wear this, I cannot access any potentially corrupt data. I can only perform the most basic operations." He said reassuringly, and Charlie noted his determination. "I'm safe, Charlie."

Charlie hesitated for only a moment, then nodded. Stan glanced at him with a brief smile, squared his shoulders and punched the ignition.

"Now, let's go save that malodorous brother of yours."

Charlie allowed himself a small smile as the SSJ rocketed forward. _I'm coming, Jase._

* * *

Charlie was running the moment he materialized on his front lawn, not caring that it was light outside or that he was still dressed as Aaron Stone. He left Stan to handle the SSJ, which was hovering in stealth mode above the house. He'd tried the house phone and his brother's cell again multiple times while en route, but received no answer on either. He'd tried Emma several times, but her phone still went immediately to voicemail. Their "neighbors" were no help either. He and Stan had tried several times to hail them from the ship, but like at Mr. Hall's compound, got no answer.

Jason was notorious for misplacing his phone, but when no one answered at the house, Emma was unreachable, and they didn't hear from the "neighbors", Charlie knew that something must be dreadfully wrong. He'd spent the whole ride in the SSJ going over various reasons why no one was answering, and they'd all been equally horrifying.

His family had been threatened by the Omega Defiance before, several times in fact; and each time it had made him furious. But they were no longer mere threats. Now, knowing his identity was out and that his family was in real danger, he found himself fighting off pure panic.

His brother knew the Omega Defiance as a group of video-game bad guys, tough but not unbeatable. Charlie knew the real monsters behind the pixilated caricatures, and the thought of any one of them going after his mother or his brother terrified him. And now he'd left his little brother and one of his best friends alone and vulnerable. Charlie's heart was hammering as he leaped up the front steps, hoping they were ok. He didn't care that his voice was a little shaky and not entirely "manly" as he called out his brother's name, bursting through their front door.

He found himself abruptly jerking to a halt just inside the doorway as he saw the catastrophe that was the foyer. The large mirror that had once hung on the wall was now laying facedown on the small table beneath it, glass scattered around it and all over the floor. Anything that had been on the table now also lay on the ground, in pieces. A large metal pole was lying across the entire area

Charlie just stared at the broken glass and decor for a moment, millions of terrifying scenarios playing through his head. He looked up, trying to ignore the heavy weight in his chest as he screamed, "Jay!!"

He continued to move into his house, but this time with his gauntlet engaged and ready to fire. Darting around a corner, he surveyed the living room, his eyes immediately drawn to the half-eaten PB&J that lay on the floor, the jelly still seeping into the carpet. _Forgotten in the wake of a surprise attack?_ He dreaded.

Charlie let out a short breath, trying not to panic. Weapon still at the ready, he headed to the stairs. "Jay!?," he yelled again, frantically taking them two at a time. "Emma!"

He checked Jason's room first. There was stuff everywhere, the floor barely visible. Even his brother's bed could barely be made out under all the dirty clothes and other misplaced items covering it. Charlie tried to remember if his room was always this messy or if it looked like someone had been through everything. He called for his brother once more, checking the rest of the upstairs.

In his room, he went over to the window and pulled back the curtain, peering across the gap into Emma's charred house. No lights were on, which meant her parents were still staying in a hotel. He pounded the window in frustration and lowered his weapon, then rushed back down the stairs.

"Stan! They're not here!"

Stan was standing in the entryway, gazing down at the mess. "Indeed they are not, Charlie. I did a heat signature scan when we entered the house. No biological presences appear to be present… except you, of course." He added as a second thought.

Charlie looked at Stan furiously. "Well, thanks for telling me that _after _I already ran around the entire house!"

Stan continued to study the floor, but answered, smiling slightly. " I deduced that you would search regardless of my scanner's conclusion."

Charlie scowled at Stan, but knew that the android was right; he would have looked anyway. Regardless, he still didn't know where his brother was, or Emma, and the foyer looked like someone had trashed it on his or her way in. He was freaking out. He clenched both fists to try to still their shaking.

"Where are they?" he asked Stan desperately. He didn't know where to start looking, or what he was supposed to do. All he knew was that Jason and Emma were missing, and it was his fault.

Stan, who had been scanning the broken bits of glass and pottery turned to Charlie and smiled reassuringly. "I don't know where Jason and Emma are, Charlie. But I do know who made this mess."

"Or more precisely, "what"," Stan said, head tilted slightly, pointing to the long metal pipe lying across the ground. "This hollow metal pole is the culprit."

Charlie paused his restless movements to scrutinize the android, wondering if perhaps the inhibitor Mr. Hall had put on Stan was not working correctly

Stan didn't notice, too busy studying the crime scene in his foyer. "It must have knocked everything over when it fell," Stan pointed next to the door, "from that corner."

Charlie noticed the long scratch mark in the wall that arched down toward the table for the first time. A flicker of hope stirred in him as he realized what Stan was saying made sense. Curious now, he leaned down and picked up the pole, then closed his eyes and let out a very long, pent-up breath. He suddenly felt both relieved and a little foolish. He looked up at Stan. "I was supposed to help Jason fix his shelves today." Standing, he took the pole and leaned it against a different corner, making sure this time it would stay put. His hand rested it against it for a moment. "He and my dad built them together."

Stan looked sad, but didn't say anything. Charlie figured he was still feeling guilty about not knowing he had been being hacked by the Omega Defiance. He wanted to say something to make Stan feel better and take back his harsh words from earlier, but he still didn't know where Jason and Emma were, and that took priority.

"What if someone knocked it over when they came in." Charlie asked. Still not convinced that the Omegas had nothing to do with this.

Stan shook his head. "You forget I have impressive olfactive capabilities that can identify foreign presences." Charlie just looked at him.

"I can smell if anyone else has been in the house."

Charlie frowned. "And?"

Stan shook his head. "The most probable scenario is that Emma and Jason went out, Charlie. I suggest we wait for them."

"We don't have time to wait. Just because they haven't been here yet doesn't mean they aren't on their way here _right now_."

"Which is why we should stay here and make sure we don't miss them." Said Stan matter-of-factly.

Charlie sighed, running a hand through his hair. What Stan was saying made sense, but he hated waiting around when he knew the Omegas most likely already knew who he was, where he lived, and were dying to repay him for all the times he'd foiled their various nefarious schemes. Still, Stan had a point. "Fine," he exhaled petulantly.

"Um," Stan begun hesitantly.

"What?" Charlie barked.

"Perhaps why we wait, you should contact Mr. Hall," he suggested.

Charlie had forgotten about the fact that he had run out on the creator of Hero Rising after refusing to follow the man's orders. Not that he regretted any of it, but he knew Mr. Hall was not going to be very happy when he called. _That _was one conversation he wanted to put off as long as possible.

"I'll wait until after we find Jason and Emma."

Stan gave him a slightly exasperated look, but didn't push the issue. "Fine. Then I will go across the street and find out why our "neighbors" aren't responding to Mr. Hall's transmissions."

Remembering the mysterious lack of communication from the two guards posted as his fake neighbors, Charlie straightened up. "I'll come with you." If the reasons for their silence were related to the Omega Defiance, Stan would need backup.

Stan held up a halting hand as Charlie tried to move past him. "Someone needs to stay and watch the house. For Emma and Jason _and_ any unwanted guests," Stan said pointedly.

Sighing, Charlie nodded reluctantly. Stan smiled. "I'll wait here until you are ready so someone is downstairs at all times."

Charlie gave Stan a confused look. "What?"

Stan rolled his eyes, an expression Charlie was pretty sure most androids didn't make, and indicated what Charlie was wearing.

Charlie looked down at himself, realizing he was still dressed as Aaron Stone. Though his brother had seen him in his uniform for Halloween, he didn't think he'd be able to explain why he was wearing it over a month after the holiday. He grinned sheepishly at Stan. "Right," he said sheepishly and bolted up the stairs.

After quickly throwing on an outfit, Charlie hurried back downstairs, shoving a small hand-blaster Emma had given him into the back of his jeans. She had said it was for emergencies, and laughed at him when he saw that it was bright pink.

Without his suit, he felt vulnerable and didn't want to be completely unprepared if the Omega Defiance had indeed found him. He prayed that the files they pulled from Stan had been too encrypted for any of the Omegas to crack. But then he remembered Mr. Hall's story about Elias Powers, and his stomach turned with nervousness.

Charlie made his way into the kitchen, where Stan was finishing up disposing of the discarded PB&J. Stan nodded at him when he reappeared. "Excellent. Now I will just—."

Charlie quickly shot up a hand to silence Stan as he suddenly heard two voices coming from outside. One was loud and obviously angry, the other seemed to be begging. Both were familiar. He heard the front door open and the two arguing voices suddenly paused. An anxious Charlie had already started toward the foyer as he heard Jason mutter, "I am in sooo much trouble."

Charlie whipped around the corner and found his brother and Emma staring at the mess in the foyer with identical expressions of shock. Jason looked up at him when he entered, and Charlie finally saw that his brother was all right, that his worries had been, thankfully, unfounded, and that at least for now, his friend and his little brother were home safe. He felt a like an enormous weight had been lifted from him and let out a huge sigh of relief.

Jason, apparently mistaking Charlie's relieved sigh for exasperation, immediately began to apologize. "Dude, the pole must have not been as sturdy as I thought it was… I didn't mean for—." Charlie walked toward Jason with purposeful steps. Jason held up his hands in a placating gesture, taking a step back. "Whoa, now. Ok, ok! It was a stupid place to put it! I'm sure we can think of something before Mom gets back--."

Jason grunted as Charlie wrapped his arms around him. Surprised, Jason could do little more than stand still with his arms trapped at his sides. Charlie gave him a quick squeeze, thankful that nothing had happened to his little brother because of him. They all might still be in danger, but for now they were all still safe, especially Jason. He'd never forgive himself if something happened to his little brother, the only one in the room who had no idea that Hero Rising was really not just a game. Releasing Jason, but keeping his hands on his brother's shoulders, Charlie looked hard at him. "Are you all right?"

Jason was still in shock at his brother's odd behavior and just stared at his brother, confused. "Umm, shouldn't I be asking you that?"

Charlie gave Jason a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"Uh... You've been at the doctor's office forever, bro. Is everything okay?"

Letting go of his brother's shoulders, he threw a glance at Stan, who shrugged. He'd been in such a panic to get back home, he'd not even thought about what lie he would use to explain his absence.

"Yeah. Everything is fine. Stan was just being paranoid," he said, nodding. "Everything is great. The doctors said I'm just…great."

Jason was looking at him oddly. "O—kay," he said slowly. "Great…"

Charlie smiled awkwardly and shrugged. He could tell Jason thought he was acting strange, but he seemed to believe him about the doctors at least. Emma was looking at him worriedly, obviously wondering what was going on. He needed to talk to her alone so they could make up a plan to get Jason away from the house for a while and keep his mom out of town.

"Well, since you are okay now, you can help me fix my shelf," Jason said, thankfully changing the topic. He held up a small bag. "Emma and I picked up the new parts you said we needed."

_Well that explains why the pole for his shelf was downstairs_, he thought. "Yeah," he said aloud. "We can definitely do that." He felt bad when Jason's face lit up. There was no time to worry about shelves right now, and he knew that soon he would have to renege on what he said. What made it even worse was that they were the shelves Jason had built with their father. It meant a lot that Jason would let Charlie help him fix them, but to Charlie, Jason's safety meant even more.

In order to keep him safe, he needed to talk with Emma and Stan alone for a few minutes. He could see Emma out of the corner of his eye getting restless as she waited to find out what had happened.

"How about you take those upstairs and I'll meet you up there and we can get started, okay?"

Jason laughed, patting Charlie on the shoulder and heading into the kitchen. "We don't have to do it right this second. I'm hungry."

They all followed him the few steps into the kitchen. "You just ate!" Emma accused. "We went out for frozen yogurt, and on the way home he managed to fin a hot dog stand, a taco stand, and knockwurst stand!" she complained to Charlie.

Charlie opened his mouth to say something, but paused, thinking. "Aren't knockwursts and hotdogs the same thing?"

Jason scoffed and shook his head. "Oh Charlie. Charlie, Charlie, Charlie. They are completely different."

Emma rolled her eyes shaking her head at Charlie. "They're basically the same thing."

Stan spoke up, and seemed to be contemplating the issue much more seriously than was called for. "Actually, I would have to agree with Jason on this one. The hotdog and the Knockwurst, while similar, do have several—."

"Finish that sentence and I will rip out your arms!" Emma warned threateningly.

Jason started laughing, and Stan, smartly mindful of Emma, started trying to explain himself. Their voices grew louder, giving Charlie a headache and he'd finally had enough. After all, they had more important things to worry about.

Charlie held up his hands in exasperation. "Alright!" he yelled loudly. He was satisfied when everyone shut-up.

"Sheesh," he said. "You know, Stan and I must have gotten home right after you guys left. I tried calling both of you but no one would answer their phones." He rested his gaze on Emma, surprised by the murderous glint in her eye.

Jason flinched suddenly and avoided looking at Emma, which was unusual for his brother. Charlie understood why as Emma's death glare turned in Jason's direction.

"That's because some _idiot_ decided he needed to take a picture of himself with the stupid cherubs on the fountain in the park, with _my_ phone, and then proceeded to _drop _said phone in the fountain!" Emma explained heatedly.

_Ah_, Charlie thought to himself. "And I take it that "idiot" was my brother?" Charlie was actually just happy that the explanation for Emma not answering her phone had nothing to do with anything sinister. He doubted Emma would appreciate his relief, however.

Emma smiled thinly. "The same," she forced through gritted teeth.

Charlie tried not to grin as he watched Jason wince. He'd seen Emma when she got really angry and almost felt sorry for his little brother, almost.

"Well that explains why I couldn't reach you guys. I was starting to get really worried." Emma looked at him curiously. She mouthed _what is going on_, when Jason wasn't looking, instead going through the pantry for something to eat. Charlie shook his head, mouthing _later_. This was going to take some serious explanation.

"Obviously," Jason said. "Dude you were like all white and sick looking when we got back. What was that about?"

Charlie turned and looked at Emma. "I was just worried something bad had happened, I guess"

From where he was still digging around in the pantry, Jason laughed. "Like what? It is so boring around here! Nothing every happens."

"I dunno. I guess I thought you might have run into our old friends," he said seriously, giving Emma a pointed look. Her eyes widened. Jason scoffed disbelievingly.

"Like that would happen. Besides, I could take them." Jason grabbed a bag of chips, finally turning back to look at all of them. Charlie and Emma were giving him dubious looks, eyebrows raised.

Stan clutched his chin, thinking. "If my math is correct, I would say you would be "crushed" had you run into those boys."

Jason glared at Stan. "Whatever."

He walked up to his brother, stuffing a handful of chips in his mouth.

"Admit it, you missed me." He said around a mouthful of crushed chips.

Charlie looked at Jason with an amused smile. "Maybe a little… For just a moment." He admitted.

Jason grinned smugly. "Enough to let me play as Aaron Stone on your game tonight?" A few chip pieces dribbled out of his mouth as he talked.

"Hmm," Charlie said with a disgusted grimace. "Moment's passed."

Jason pouted for a moment, then shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, and Emma," Jason started randomly. Apparently, he'd gotten some of his courage back. "I told you, they are called "baby cupids".

Emma looked about ready to murder his brother.

"Cherubs are those things pulled by horses that Roman dudes rode in," Jason finished smartly.

Charlie looked confused. "You mean chariots?"

Jason paused, looking thoughtful. "Oh, yeah." He frowned in confusion. "Then what the heck are cherubs?"

Emma groaned and lunged for Jason, but Charlie held her back. Jason took a few steps backwards in fear, clutching his bag of chips.

"Alrighty then," Jason said nervously, continuing to back away. "I'm just going to go wait for you in my room, Charlie."

Emma made another attempt to break free of Charlie to get Jason. With a small squeak, Jason fled the kitchen, running up the stairs to his room. They heard the door slam and Emma instantly relaxed, easily slipping out of Charlie's grip.

Charlie raised a curious eyebrow at her, and she smiled. "It got him out of the room, didn't it?" she asked sweetly. "Now what the heck is going on, Charlie?" she demanded, suddenly very serious.

He and Stan took turns explaining what they had found when arriving at a besieged Hall Industries, what Mr. Hall suspected, and what had happened to Stan.

To be honest, Charlie was a little disappointed that Emma had not gotten as angry as he had after hearing about the android's information leak. For his part, Stan looked miserable and had apologized profusely for burning down part of her house and putting she and her parents in danger. Emma had calmly accepted the information and been quick to assure Stan that it wasn't his fault, even promising to pummel the people who had dared mess with the android. He was glad for Emma's graciousness because he knew Stan already felt horrible enough, but it made him feel even worse about being the only one to have blown up at Stan for something that had been out of the android's control.

"Before we do anything, Stan wants to go check on Hall's guards across the street. They haven't been answering any of his hails," Aaron said, finished explaining their current predicament.

Emma looked worried. "I wonder what happened. We need to go see the neighbors right away," Emma said determinedly.

"Why is it so important that you go see the new neighbors right now"?

Three heads whipped around, startled to find Jason leaning against the doorway, arms crossed suspiciously.

Charlie gulped, wondering how long he'd been standing there. "Well, you see…" He had nothing, and looked to Emma, begging.

Emma piped up immediately, trying to help. "Since they just moved in a few days ago we thought we could just…maybe… because—."

"—Because it is just horrible that we have not welcomed them to the neighborhood yet!" Stan abruptly exclaimed.

"Y-yeah…" Charlie agreed, giving Stan an annoyed look, though he and Emma hadn't been doing any better. The android shrugged helplessly.

Jason's eyes narrowed and he looked confused. "It's getting kind of late and it's already dark outside. Wouldn't that be kind of weird?"

Charlie laughed nervously. "Well, Stan's just going to go say a quick hello. Right Stan?"

Stan nodded vigorously. "Indeed. I'll be right back." The android turned to leave, but Jason called out and stopped him.

"Hey! Aren't you at least supposed to bring something over?"

Charlie and Emma watched to see what Stan would do. The android had paused for a moment, as if computing this. Then he smiled. "Of course! Thank you for reminding me, Jason." With that, Stan went over and picked up one of their mother's favorite centerpieces from the living room table. Then, grinning, headed out of the house.

Charlie watched him go, suppressing a sigh. He glanced at Emma, who nodded in understanding. "I'd better go with him," she said hastily. "After all, once we move back in the house they'll be my new neighbors, too, so yeah—."

She left quickly, and Charlie hoped she and Stan would be okay and that Mr. Hall's guards were just having technical problems. He also kind of hoped she would get that centerpiece back, too.

"Did he just…?" Jason asked from behind him.

"Yeah," Charlie said wearily.

Jason shook his head in bewilderment. "I'm telling you bro, Stan is just _creepy_ sometimes. There is something wrong with that dude."

Charlie scoffed. "You have no idea."

* * *

**See? Really long. I apologize if it isn't what you have all been waiting for. I know there was a lot of boring explanations, but I needed to get those out of the way so we can start getting to the action and answering some of the bigger questions and mysteries. **

**Thanks to everyone who is still reading this!! Let me know what you think! The next chapter is a biggie! Lots of fun stuff happening!**

**Love to all my readers! ~NinjaPadawan**


	8. Chapter 8

**Wow. Been a while, huh? Sorry bout that. Well, here is the next chapter! yay! Hope some of you are still out there and interested in reading this. You may have to reread to remember what was going on... I had to do a little of that myself. :) hope this is the chapter a lot of you were waiting for. I didn't really edit this chapter very much, so excuse the rough bits. I wanted to get it out today, no exceptions, so I only went over it once. Happy Fourth of July!**

**Disclaimer: no money, no ownership**

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Jason clapped his hands together and rubbed them in anticipated excitement. "Alright, time to salvage what is left of our long weekend without parental supervision!" he declared.

Charlie turned away from the front door to look at his brother. Jason had no idea what was going on, so he couldn't have any idea how strenuous the whole situation was for everyone else. Charlie felt bad about the deception, but was also glad his brother was in the dark. It meant Jason didn't have to worry about things like the Omega Defiance possibly knowing where he lived and wanting to come get their revenge.

He knew though that if it did happen, if they were approaching a worst-case scenario, it would be almost impossible to keep his secret from Jason any longer. He didn't want to do that. He wanted Jason to be able to do all the normal things he couldn't do. Worry about normal problems, like school, acne, or girls. He'd protect that life for his brother with everything he had. He just hoped it was enough.

Figuring it would help ease his worry and allow him to keep his promise of a fun-filled weekend to his brother, he smiled and raised a curious eyebrow. "Alright, Jay. What did you have in mind?"

Jason bit his lip in thought, then seemed to grow uncommonly hesitant. "Well, you said you'd help me rebuild my shelf. Emma and I already bought the new parts, so maybe we could-."

"We can do that," Charlie said with a small smile. "Sounds like fun." Jason grinned happily and Charlie actually felt touched that his brother wanted his help with a project that had been between their dad and Jason.

"Great! Ill get the—_grwwlllrrrr_."

Charlie grinned as Jason's stomach gave a loud protest. "Maybe we should eat first," he suggested.

Jason clutched his stomach and looked toward the kitchen, suddenly seeming even more excited. "I'll go see what we have to make," he said and took off toward the kitchen.

"I'm going to call Mom while you do that," Charlie shouted after him. It'd been a while since they'd heard from her and he needed to hear her voice. Though he'd never admit it, he still found his mother's voice calming, plus he wanted to make sure she was all right. She was across the country, so he wasn't worried, but he still wanted to make sure.

Jason shouted back from the kitchen, his mouth sounding like it was full of something. "Ok. Tell her her favorite son says he loves her and to feel free to take her time!"

Charlie scoffed as he picked up the phone. "You are not her favorite! And you're supposed to be finding something to cook, not eating!"

His brother's response was garbled by whatever Jason had put in his mouth, so he couldn't make out what was probably some from of protest. Rolling his eyes, he dialed his mom's cell phone and listened as it rang.

"Hello?"

"Mom!" Charlie said happily, relieved to hear she was obviously fine.

"What's wrong, Charlie? Is everything alright?" She sounded worried. Leave it to his mother to pick up on how he was feeling immediately. He took a moment to settle down so he could be convincing when he lied.

"Charlie?"

"Everything is fine, mom." He said with as much assurance as he could muster. He really wanted to just tell her everything so she could be the one comforting him, but that wasn't possible.

"Are you sure? Is Jason okay?"

Charlie smiled to himself. "Yes, mom, he's fine. Still as annoying as ever, but don't worry, I haven't killed him yet."

His mother chuckled through the phone. "Good. Please try to keep it that way until I come home, hmm?"

"I'll try," he said with a smile. His mother laughed this time.

"Good Boy."

There were a few silent moments and then his mother spoke again, softly. "You sound a little funny, Charlie. Are you sure everything is all right?"

Smiling sadly, Charlie lied. "I promise everything is fine, mom. I think I'm coming down with a cold or something though." He coughed and then sniffled a little, selling the lie.

"Aww, I'm sorry sweetie. You need me to come home?"

"No!" he said a little too loudly. "No," he repeated more calmly, "I'm fine. Stan already went out and got me some medicine. I'm actually feeling a lot better."

"Good. Tell Stan I said thank you, that was sweet."

"Yeah… I will." Stan had helped him out medically, treating his wounds. So, it wasn't a complete lie.

He heard someone near his mother say something, and his mother mumble something back. "Ok, Charlie. I have to go, but I'll call you tomorrow, ok?"

Charlie frowned; a little disappointed she couldn't talk to him for a little longer. "Ok, mom," he said, trying not to sound as upset as he was.

"Goodnight, Charlie. Don't you and your brother stay up too late playing videogames. And give him a hug and a kiss from me."

"Yeah, can't promise I'll do those last two, mom."

She chuckled. "I hope you feel better, sweetie."

"Thanks, mom," he said smiling. He hoped he did, too.

"I love you, Charlie."

Charlie gripped the phone for a moment, feeling his eyes burn and wishing his mom were home. "Love you too, mom."

After exchanging their last goodnights, he hung up and took a deep breath. Once he felt like he was back to normal, he headed to the kitchen.

"What'd mom say?" Jason asked absently as he rustled through some cabinets.

Charlie shrugged, sitting down on a stool to watch as his brother made a mess. "That I'm still her favorite, but she loves you, too."

"Ha!" Jason said disbelievingly. "Just keep telling yourself that, man."

Ignoring his brother, he Looked down the hall toward the door. He realized he was waiting for Emma and Stan. He would have expected them back by now since they both knew what a dangerous and precarious situation they were all in. So why were they taking so long?

Charlie reached behind him, feeling for the comforting presence of his back-up blaster. He wished he was wearing his gauntlet, but didn't know how to explain to Jason that his "toy" gauntlet made him feel safer.

"So what do you want?"

"Um… whatever is fine," Charlie answered absently as he wondered what was happening across the street and listened for the sound of the front door.

So engrossed in his musings, Charlie failed to see the delighted grin that spread across his brother's face.

"Awesome! I have this new secret recipe I've wanted to try! I'll make that!" Jason said excitedly.

"Yeah, sure," Charlie muttered, wishing he could go across the street himself, but unwilling to leave Jason alone and vulnerable. If only he could see through walls.

A thought struck him. He _could_ see through the walls. Emma had been working on improving a pair of heat sensor goggles. He vaguely recalled her telling him about the project, though once she'd started getting into the technical jargon he'd spaced out. And all of Emma's weapons and gadgets had been stashed in his room since the fire at her house. Eager to figure out what was going on, Charlie turned and made his way toward the stairs.

"I'll be back down in a sec!" he yelled to Jason, who was gathering ingredients.

As he hurried up the steps he decided he'd look for a new blaster, too. Though he appreciated the one at his back, he knew that Emma probably had a lot more powerful weapons in her collection and he'd feel more comfortable with a little heavier firepower. Besides, he was hoping to find something a little less pink.

Coming into his bedroom, Charlie put his hands on his hips, giving the room a cursory once-over. He sighed. The hard part was going to be finding where Emma had stashed everything, and fast.

* * *

Jason hummed to himself as he rooted through the cabinets, pulling out various jars, bottles, and cans. Digging through the refrigerator, he found what he needed and deposited them in a giant pile on the kitchen counter. Freddy had given him the recipe weeks ago and he'd been waiting for an opportunity to try it out.

As he began combining all of the ingredients in a large bowl, he started to feel like he'd forgotten something. "Got the horse-radish, worsteshire..." he snapped his fingers as he finally remembered. "Duh," he berated himself. Quickly, he went over to the cabinet, pulling out his last ingredient. "Almost forgot the Tabasco." Dumping in a large amount, he pulled out a whisk and hummed as he stirred.

_Knock-knock_

Jason paused in his furious whisking, listening curiously.

_Knock-knock-knock_

"Charlie!" he yelled, "door!" Shaking his head, he went back to whisking their dinner, figuring it was just Stan and Emma coming back from welcoming their new neighbors and Charlie had accidentally locked them out.

_Knock-knock-knock-knock_

With an exasperated groan, Jason put down the whisk and made his way into the foyer since it was obvious Charlie wasn't going to get the door. "I'll get it!" he yelled upstairs in annoyance.

Wanting to get back to his recipe, he hurriedly made it to the front door, flinging it open in exasperation. "Dude, Stan, don't you have a key-?" his voice trailed off as he saw that the man at the door was definitely _not_ Stan. Unlike their tenant, this man had a full head of hair.

"Hello," the man said slowly. He seemed to study Jason for a moment, looking at him with keen interest. Then his mouth twisted in what appeared to be an odd attempt at a smile.

_Creepy_, Jason thought to himself as he smiled back warily. The stranger was average looking and built, his arms clasped casually in front of him as he stood on the doorstep. Then Jason noticed his all-black attire and groaned inwardly. _Not again,_ he thought to himself. "Look, man," he started impatiently, "we don't need any more Bibles. The last time one of your guys was here, my mom bought like five just to get the dude to leave, so—."

"I am not a Bible-salesman," the man cut in calmly, his smile widening in an uneven, forced attempt to look friendly.

Jason believed him. There was no way this guy would ever be able to get people to buy any Bibles with such a horrible smile.

"Please, hear me out." The man asked.

_Wow_, Jason thought. _Please?_ This guy must be a horrible door-to-door salesman. Out of pity he put on a small, bored smile, waiting for the dude to peddle whatever he was selling so he could tell him _no thanks_ and get back to cooking.

"Is this the residence of Aaron Stone?"

He hadn't been expecting _that_. Blinking a few times, he looked at the man in surprise.

"What?" he asked. Not many people knew about Charlie's online avatar status. For some reason that had never made sense to Jason, his brother didn't want to flaunt his rock star status on Hero Rising. It boggled his mind.

"I'm from Hall Industries, the company that created the video game—."

"Hero Rising!" Jason finished in excitement, forgetting that seconds ago he'd called the man creepy, suddenly very excited to have the him on the front steps of his house. For the first time, he noticed the small, unmistakable logo printed on the left breast of the man's black suit.

The stranger nodded once, his smile shrinking slightly, which actually made him look less psychotic. "Yes. I'm here to present Aaron Stone with a special award-.

Jason let out an excited laugh. "No way!" So his brother's skills had caught the attention of the game's creators? How incredibly awesome was that? He grinned, only a tiny bit jealous, and really happy Charlie was his brother.

The man was biting his lower lip as he waited for Jason to quiet. "I am one of the original programmers for the videogame and wanted to give the news to Aaron Stone - personally."

Jason knew he was grinning like an idiot, but this was by far the coolest and most exciting thing to ever happen to his brother and he intended to vicariously soak up as much of it as possible.

The man peeked a look into the house behind him. "Are you Mr. Stone?" he asked, though Jason noticed, somewhat offended, the man seemed to already know he wasn't.

"I could be," he said, suddenly indignant. The man once again focused on him, a small-amused smirk on his face and Jason felt mildly uncomfortable. The dude really needed to learn to be friendlier and less eerie. Maybe that is what happened to nerds who spent more time in front on a computer screen then around living people. Perhaps he should start listening to his mom more…

Jason deflated. "Fine. Aaron Stone is my brother. And it's Landers by the way, Charlie Landers. He totally dominates your game! None of your Omega Defiance bad guys stand a chance when he plays! You should really try creating a few bad dudes that aren't so easy to beat."

The man's smile dropped completely and he sounded annoyed. "Is your brother here or not?"

Jason frowned at the guy's rudeness, wondering why he, of all people, had been sent to present the award. "Yeah, Sheesh. Come on in."

The man stepped into the house, surveying everything with intense interest. Jason led him into the kitchen, and watched, confused as a slow, slimy grin spread across the man's features, seeming oddly more natural than the grin he'd displayed at the front door. "Aaron Stone lives _here_?"

"Umm… yeah?" confused. "By the way," Jason started proudly, "My avatar is Terminus Mag. Not too bad myself, actually."

"Never heard of you."

Jason deflated, but covered up his embarrassment by turning around to yell up at his brother. "Hey, Charlie!" Charlie was going to be so excited, he thought to himself. He couldn't wait to see the look on his brother's face. "Man he is going to freak," he whispered excitedly to the man.

Jason was already freaking out. He was planning on basking in whatever glory was left over after Charlie accepted his prize. Who knew, maybe Charlie had one a trip to the Hero-Rising game headquarters, or a Hero-Rising Con. Usually those offers included a plus two. Jason had every intention of making himself that number two.

He stopped his excited tangent as he realized he'd been rude, neglecting to ask the man his name. "Sorry, forgot to ask your name."

The man smiled. "Powers. Elias Powers."

Jason frowned thoughtfully, thinking it sounded familiar. "Weird name," he said. The man, Powers took a deep breath, as if in pain. Jason was about to ask if he was all right when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He tensed up in excitement.

Still moody from earlier, Charlie was grumbling as he descended the staircase. "Sorry Jase, I was looking for something and—." His brother froze as he looked over at them, his voice seeming to catch in his throat as he looked up at the man standing beside him.

Jason grinned as he watched his brother's face transform into complete shock. "Dude, Charlie. This dude is from Hero Rising and you are not going to believe what -." he trailed off as Charlie jerked, grasping at his right forearm, and then looking down at it in horror. When he looked back up, Jason's grin fell at the look of pure fright on his brother's face.

"Jason." Charlie's voice was tense, his eyes wide.

Not understanding his brother's reaction, Jason stepped toward his brother in worry. At the same time, Charlie reached forward to grab at him. Both brothers stopped moving as a firm grip came down on Jason's right shoulder, preventing him from moving any further. He looked over and up at the man who'd introduced himself as Elias Powers in confusion. The man's creepy smile was back, and Jason suddenly wasn't so sure that he was really from Hero Rising.

"Hello, Aaron Stone." Elias Powers said, looking extremely pleased and grinning widely. It was amusing for him to see the teenager who had caused him so much trouble looking so scared, so vulnerable. "Or should I say, Charlie Landers."

Charlie swallowed visibly, hands held out to his sides in a non-threatening manner.

Jason had a feeling he was missing something important, but his nervousness always made him talk more, not less, so he started rambling. "H-Hey, bro. Surprise? Apparently you won some awesome prize for being the top player on hero rising… cool right? I told him you'd freak…and you did! Though… I haven't really told you anything yet, so I don't know what that is about, but-

The hand on his shoulder tightened and Jason winced and looked over at the man he'd thought was just a videogame programmer in fear. The slimy smile had grown into a full grin, and it was the most disturbing thing Jason had ever seen.

"Now, _now_ I've found you."

* * *

Charlie went cold. Those words, words that now made sense where they didn't a few days ago shocked him into action and he relaxed his stance, ready to spring when necessary. He glanced fearfully at Jason, who is standing next to Powers, the excited grin he was sporting earlier gone and replaced by growing fear.

"He's not really from Hero Rising is he?" Jason said nervously, eyes pleading with Charlie to do something.

"Not exactly," Charlie answered, keeping his eyes locked on Powers, ready to spring when he found an opening. The pistol jammed in the back of his pants he'd found in Emma's stuff felt like it was on fire, screaming at him to pull it out and shoot Powers. Slowly, he let his hands fall, trying to reach discreetly for the weapon.

"I think you need to leave." He said calmly, trying to distract Powers from what his hands were doing.

Powers smirked. "But I just got here, Aaron. It would be rude to make me leave after I traveled so far just to get here."

Charlie smiled thinnly. "Well, unfortunately I already have some friends coming over, so you'll have to visit some other time." He said, though he was doubtful his veiled warning would faze the mad man. His hand inched closer to the pistol, his fingertips now brushing the handle.

"Oh, Aaron. Aaron, Aaron, Aaron."

Charlie's hand gripped the blaster's handle firmly. "I hope you are not referring to your friends across the street," Powers said with a look of false concern. Charlie's hand froze, squeezing the weapon tightly as he looked at Powers in shock.

"Oh, yes," Elias Powers said with a wide grin. "I paid your new neighbors a visit earlier, then imagine my good fortune when Stan and your little friend dropped by to join the party. It was a most convenient coincidence." Powers face went stony. "One that I took full advantage of."

Charlie swallowed, trying not to worry too much about his friends. He needed to handle things here, then he could make sure everyone else was all right.

"So you see Aaron? We have plenty of time to visit," Powers said happily, smug smile back in place. Charlie didn't remember Power's mood swings being quite so scary before.

Jason had been silent up to this point, listening to the back and forth with a confused expression. Finally he couldn't help but interject. "Okay, obviously I am missing something here." He said in exasperation.

Powers glanced down at Jason, then gave Charlie a smug look. "Yes, Aaron. Your brother here does seem to be quite out of the loop on some things."

Charlie glared at Powers, hating the man more than ever.

Jason rolled his eyes. "Dude, I'm not as out of it as you seem to be." He pointed to Charlie. "His name is Charlie, not Aaron, duh. Aaron is his avatar's name."

Charlie bit his cheek, looking away for a moment at his little brother's trusting, matter-of-fact tone. Powers laughed.

"It's a bit more than that, isn't it, _Aaron_?"

In a sudden burst of anger, Charlie pulled the blaster out, pointing it straight at Powers. The man was too fast. At the same moment, Elias Powers had moved behind Jason, pulling his little brother back against him, effectively using him as a human shield. Charlie's finger froze against the trigger, unable to find a shot that wouldn't also possibly hit Jason.

Grinding his teeth in fear and frustration, he kept the weapon up. "Let him go, Powers. He has nothing to do with this."

"Obviously, or you would have at least entrusted him with your true identity."

"I _am_ Charlie Landers."

"Yes, but that's not _all_ you are- Not anymore."

"I understand why you couldn't tell him. Family isn't trustworthy. And your brother seems quite stupid, it would be a liability to tell him anything."

"Shut-up."

"Stop! You're after me, remember? Let him go, Powers. Now."

Powers chuckled, leaning down until his head was beside Jason's. Jason leant as afar away as possible, scrunching up his face in disgust and nervousness.

"Someone's quite full of himself. Who said I was after you?" Charlie frowned in confusion. Powers smiled and looked at Jason. Charlie's heart stopped. Jason - they had come for Jason. He didn't know what Elias Powers wanted his brother for, but whatever it was could not be good, and he didn't care to find out what it was right now. It was time to grab Jason and run.

Without wasting another moment, Charlie sprung forward with an enraged yell, grabbing the bowl of Jason's "special recipe" and throwing the contents over Powers. The gooey substance flew into Powers face and the bowl caught on the top of his head, spinning around a few times like a horseshoe before plopping down over Powers face. Elias yelled out as the mess fell into his eyes. Solely focused on getting Jason away, Charlie grabbed Jason away from Powers and pulled him towards the foyer, yelling at him to run. Jason didn't need to be told twice, beating Charlie to the front door.

Jason wrenched it open, only stopping when he realized Charlie had no intention of following. Scared, confused, and aggravated, he grabbed Charlie's arm, pulling at him. "Charlie, come on!" he said, in no mood for his big brother's hero complex.

Charlie pulled away and tightly took hold of both of Jason's arms, imploring him to listen for once. "No, Jason. You run. Go down to Mrs. Habersham's house, call the police, and don't step a foot outside until I come and get you."

Jason had started shaking his head the moment Charlie said _run_. "Are you crazy?" he hissed out, and Charlie could see how frightened his little brother was. His face was pale, eyes watery, and with his grip on him, he could feel the slight tremors as they ran through Jason.

"Maybe a little," Charlie said with a small smile, trying to reassure his brother, despite his own dubious thoughts. A loud crash resounded from the kitchen along with a curse. Charlie pushed against Jason, urging him to leave. "I'll be fine, Jay, but I need you to go get help."

"I'll stay and help you here."

Another loud growl was heard, and Charlie shot a fearful glance over his shoulder toward the kitchen as he heard footsteps. There was no more time to do this gently. Giving his brother another, harder shove, Charlie snapped. "You'll only be in my way, Jason! Now leave!"

Jason looked at him, a hurt expression on his face. Charlie sighed.

"Look, Jason —." A blaster beam suddenly shot past their heads, hitting the doorframe and erupting in sparks and splinters. Charlie whipped around to find Elias Powers bearing down on them, crazed looking as he gripped his weapon, eyes red from what was supposed to be their dinner still dripping down his face.

Panicked, Charlie turned and shoved Jason through the front door. He locked gazes with his little brother for a split second. "Run," he gasped, then slammed the door shut.

* * *

Outside, Jason stared at the door for a few seconds, jumping as another shot hit the door from whatever that weapon was the guy had. Everything was happening so fast and he had no idea what was going on. It was like Hero Rising had suddenly come to life and his brother was fighting bad guys in the real world. Only it wasn't turning out to be as cool as Jason had always imagined.

For a minute Jason considered barging back inside to provide backup for his brother. But he was too scared. This wasn't a game. He didn't have lives he could waste fighting this villain. There was a genuine psychopath in his house who was trying to hurt his brother, and now Charlie couldn't call for help. Jason could. That was how he could help his brother. His mind made up, he started sprinting across the yard toward Mrs. Habersham's, following Charlie's instructions. While running, he risked one more glance back at his house, hoping his brother would be able to hold the guy off long enough for him to bring the cavalry.

"Oof!" Jason grunted as his body rammed into something solid, causing him to fall backwards onto his rear. Rubbing his aching chest, he squinted up through the dark to see what'd hit him. His eyes widened in recognition.

"Stan?" Sure enough, Stan stood over him, gazing down at him strangely. Jason grinned in relief. "Stan! Oh my gosh!"

Jumping up, he grabbed their tenant's shoulders. "Thank god, Stan. Charlie's in trouble! There is some wack-job in our house trying to hurt him! The dude's really creepy, and he's got this weird gun that shoots lasers, and - and you have to help him! You -."

Once again, he suddenly found himself sitting on his rear in the damp grass. Rubbing his now throbbing chest, he glared up at Stan angrily. "Hey! What is wrong with you! We have to-."

Anything he was going to say was cut off as Stan's eyes suddenly lit up, along with several other parts of his body. He suddenly looked like a large glow-in the dark robot, and it was the scaring the heck out of him.

"Stan?" he whispered nervously.

Stan's bright, glowing eyes zeroed in on him. "Target acquired. Jason Landers detained." The man he'd known as an odd teacher and strange tenant not only looked like a robot, now he sounded like one too. Slowly, he began dragging himself backward. He felt like he was stuck in a nightmare and couldn't wake up. Everything was going wrong. Nothing made sense.

"What are you talking about, man?" he asked shakily, still backing away.

Ignoring his question, Stan reached down and picked him up. Actually _picked him up_. Jason was surprised at his strength, though after everything that had already happened he figured he shouldn't have been. Jason was quite a bit taller than Stan, yet he had picked him up and held him above the ground like Jason weighed nothing. And his grip was relentless. As hard as he tried, he couldn't manage to struggle free. Desperate and panicked, he did the only other thing he could think of, he screamed.

There were several houses around them, and he only prayed someone heard as he continued to shout for help. His attempts were silenced, however, when a hand shot out and backhanded him, hard. He felt blood well up in his mouth immediately and shook his head to clear the sudden cloudiness that entered his vision. He realized he was shaking now, scared out of his mind. That had really hurt. If that didn't wake him from this nightmare, then that meant his was real. Somehow, this was all terrifyingly real.

He finally managed to shake off the dizziness to see three new people standing in front of him. Two looked vaguely familiar, though he couldn't quite place where. The last figure left him gaping. "E-." He spat out a mouthful of blood, before trying again. "Emma?"

It looked like the girl of his dreams, yet it was as if she didn't recognize him. Her face held no expression. None. Come to think of it, neither did the other two people, or Stan.

As if in a trance, she stepped toward him, holding something. As she got closer, Jason got a look at what was in her hand and gaped. It was some sort of syringe with the biggest needle Jason had ever seen in his life on the end, and it was pointed right at him. He began to struggle anew, feet kicking furiously through the air, but it was pointless. Stan's grip didn't even give a little.

"Emma! What are you doing?" he yelled as she came closer.

It was like she could not hear him, and raised the needle above his arm. Clenching his eyes shut tightly, he tensed. When forced to go to the doctor's for shots, his mom had always comforted him by telling him it hurt less if you closed your eyes.

His entire body jerked as the long needle was jabbed into his upper arm. His mother's wisdom didn't seem to apply in this situation. He gasped as a sharp, shooting pain shot throughout his entire body. It felt like all his nerves were firing pain indicators at the same time. He wondered briefly if this is what it felt like to be stabbed.

"Injection Complete."

Opening his eyes, Jason ignored the few tears that escaped his eyes and looked down at his arm. The needle was gone, but a large bruise marked the injection spot. He looked over to Emma, glaring at her, feeling betrayed. She was supposed to be their friend. Now, she'd just jabbed him with some needle, and even worse, was preventing him from getting help so he could save his brother.

Emma didn't give any indication that she even processed that he was looking at her. She just stared straight ahead, the same blank expression on her face. That couldn't be Emma he realized. She was Charlie's best friend. What in the world was going on? It was like she was being controlled by something or someone else. Their Emma would never do this he told himself. Mind-control made sense, but that was crazy. This had to be some sort of big mistake. Then he remembered Charlie. Charlie was counting on him to get help.

"Emma!" he said desperately, begging her to hear him through whatever was causing her to act like this. "Emma, Charlie's in our house. There's a man in there - he's psychotic and he has a gun." Emma continued to stare at him blankly, and Jason felt his hopelessness rise. "Emma!" he shouted as loud as he could manage, frantic to get through to her. Someone had to save Charlie. He refused to loose another family member.

A hand shot out and backhanded him again, this time even harder. He saw now that it had been Stan who had hit him. Somehow he'd been able to keep holding Jason up, and still slap the crap out of him. That realization gave him a sudden idea. He'd have to be quick, but it was his only chance. He started struggling again, jerking as hard as he could.

"SOMEBODY! HEL -."

Once again, Stan brought a hand up and hit him, but Jason barely felt the blow. Moving as fast as he could, he took advantage of Stan's one-handed hold and jerked himself sideways, upsetting the man's balance. Stan barely wobbled, but it was enough for Jason to wrench his other arm out of Stan's grip, breaking free. Hitting the grass, he lifted himself up quickly; ready to run faster than he'd ever run in his life. He took one step, and then collapsed.

Confused, he tried standing up once more, but ended up back on his hands and knees. A fuzziness had taken over his mind, and he shook his head a few times to try to clear it. Instead, a burning sensation began to spread from his arm and throughout his entire body. He moaned in pain, collapsing completely into the wet grass as the pain caused his arms to be unable to support his weight.

His eyes blinked heavily, and he knew he was about to pass out. He could no longer move, and the pain was becoming unbearable. Tears flowed from his eyes, into the already wet grass.

He heard footsteps approach, then found himself rolled over roughly by a large boot. He looked up at the four blank pairs of eyes gazing down at him. Groggily, he focused on the only one that mattered right now, the last person who could save him and his brother.

"Em…ma," he mumbled, having to force the words out through uncooperative lips. "Please - Please…you have to …save… Ch - Charlie…" His eyes closed and he found he couldn't form the words anymore. He tried, but no sound came out except unintelligible groans. He'd failed to get through to her, the Landers brothers' last chance.

Tears flowed unabated from his tightly closed eyes, as he dimly felt someone place something around his wrists, and heard a loud whirring noise overhead. He vaguely wondered how this long weekend had turned into such a disaster. Now he was either dying or being kidnapped, and his brother was going to be killed by the psycho with the gun in their house. He really wanted Charlie to step in right about now to save the day, like he'd been doing since Jason was little, but he knew that was impossible. After all, Jason was the one who had left his big brother all by himself with some crazed man with a strange weapon. No one would be sending help, and it was all his fault.

A sudden, blinding white light invaded his closed eyelids. Well this is it, he thought, I'm dying. He was so tired and out of it, he found he didn't even care that much. If possible, the light seemed to get brighter, and he cracked his eyes open in curiosity. All he could see was a large circle of white light, surrounded by a huge dark shape that seemed to be getting closer. He suddenly felt weightless, and his eyes slipped closed for the final time.

As unconsciousness took over, he managed to move his lips, though no sound came out, silently calling out to his big brother.

* * *

Charlie ducked as another laser beam got uncomfortably close to taking off his head. Powers was angry, and that seemed to actually make his aim more deadly. So far, he'd managed to get a few shots of his own off, but he wasn't used to the larger gun he'd picked out of Emma's stash. The recoil threw off his aim. Inwardly, he cursed himself for picking out the bigger gun, wishing he still had his smaller, pinker handgun. His gauntlet would have been ideal, but he didn't think Powers would go for a time-out so he could suit up.

Standing back up, Charlie darted behind a corner, gun at the ready. He glanced over at the large, charred hole that now decorated the wall across from him and sighed in annoyance. There were several more throughout the downstairs, made as Charlie and Powers traded blaster fire. He didn't know how he was going to explain those to his mom.

"I still can't believe the "_great_ Aaron Stone" lives here." Powers was chuckling, sounding almost whimsical. Charlie frowned, listening to the man's voice to figure out where he was. Quietly, he moved further down the hall, slipping back into the living room, ducking behind the sofa. If he was right, Powers was coming from the opposite direction, and would come through the archway any minute. Gripping his gun tightly in preparation, he kept his ears tuned to the soft sound of the former Hall industries employee's steps.

Now. Jumping up, he took aim and fired. Powers screamed in anger as the bolt tore into his shoulder. Charlie cursed as he saw it was only a graze. Eyes promising retribution, Powers pointed his gun right at Charlie's chest.

He barely managed to throw himself out of the way. Landing behind a chair, he rolled into a ball, hands over his head as Powers began to shoot wildly around the entire room. Charred holes were ripped into the walls, glass shattered, and the burning smell of fabric permeated the air. When a few bolts hit the entertainment area, Charlie took advantage of the explosion of sparks and smoke, scrambling out of the deathtrap and making his way to the kitchen, where there was a back door. He knew when to admit defeat. He needed to retreat for now, find his brother, save Emma and Stan, and contact Mr. Hall.

The blaster fire had gone silent, but Charlie didn't bother looking behind him. As he reached the kitchen, he made immediately for the back door. But as he reached for the handle, he watched it turn on its own and the door slowly creak open. Someone was coming in.

Holding up his gun, he waited for the new intruders to appear, then quickly lowered it as he saw who it was. "Emma! Stan! You're alright!" he let out a sigh, relieved beyond words that his friends were safe, and that he would now have backup to take on Elias Powers.

Speaking of Powers, he could hear him approaching. "Quick, Powers is coming! Emma do you have a blaster?"

He frowned as Emma didn't answer him, but instead stared straight ahead, focused on nothing in particular. Stan held a similar expression, though it was not as unusual for the android to look like that. "Guys? Emma?"

Emma continued to stare blankly and Charlie suddenly got a wary feeling, backing up a few steps, looking between his two friends, realizing something was wrong. His eyes widened as he remembered the guard at Hall's headquarters turning against his comrades. "Cerebella!" he whispered, wondering what he was going to do now.

His friends were being mind-controlled and blocking his only escape. Now he would have to find a way to get rid of powers and return his friends to normal. He wanted to groan out loud. This just kept getting better and better he thought sarcastically. He hoped Jason had gotten help by now and the police were on the way. That would at least throw Powers off.

From behind him, someone started clapping slowly. Jerking around he found Powers standing there, grinning ruefully. "Very astute, Aaron. I had Cerebella whip up a few extra devices for my trip. After all, why destroy your enemies when you can _use_ them?"

Charlie glowered. "Let them go, Powers."

Powers just smiled, then looked over at Stan and Emma. "Is it done?"

Stan nodded in confirmation. "Yes, sir. Target acquired, restrained, and in route to final transportation," the android spoke in monotone. Charlie looked back and forth between Stan and Powers, wondering what they were talking about.

"Sir," Emma added without any inflection. "Subject: Jason Landers subdued for transport."

Charlie felt his chest tighten and he turned, wide-eyed to Emma. "What?" he gasped.

He walked over and gripped Emma by the shoulders, putting himself directly into her line of vision. "What happened to Jason?" When she didn't answer he shook her, desperate to figure out what had happened to his little brother. "Emma! What happened? Where is Jason?"

He heard chuckling behind him and turned to Powers, who was grinning in satisfaction and seemed to be enjoying Charlie's panic.

"Where is he, Powers?" Charlie said, having never felt more furious in his life. He took a few steps toward Powers, but the man held up his blaster in warning.

"My, my... someone has quite the temper."

Charlie glared, fidgeting as he resisted the urge to jump forward and beat a real answer out of the psychotic man in front of him. He had taken Jason - Oh god he had taken Jason.

"Though I'd love to stick around, I really must be going. I got what I came for," he said smugly. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you soon."

"You're not going anywhere," Charlie said, bringing his own gun up. Powers shook his head in amusement, then looked at Emma and Stan. "Kill Aaron Stone."

Having forgotten about his two friends momentarily, he now looked back at them, wary and waiting for an attack. Stan looked like he was going to move, but a sudden grinding made him jerk back into place. Charlie watched as Stan's eyes blinked a few times, his head twitching back and forth before coming to a rest. After a few more clicks, Stan focused on Charlie and Powers, and Charlie felt relief bubble up inside at Stan's shocked expression.

"Charlie? What is going -?" Stan's chest exploded in a shower of sparks and metal as three blaster bolts ripped into his body.

"Stan!" Charlie screamed, watching in horror as the android's eyes turned off and his smoking body crumpled to the ground. Somehow the android had overridden Cerebella's device, and now he was - gone.

"What a waste. Cerebella did warn me that the effects might not be as effective on a non-human. Oh well." Powers didn't sound sorry at all.

Still in shock, Charlie turned slowly to regard Powers. The man was slowly destroying everything and everyone close to him. Stan was gone, Emma under his control, and his little brother, Jason, trapped in his clutches. He would never let Powers get away with any of it. He was going to stop Powers, save Emma, and find Jason before anything could happen to him. But first he had to take Powers out of the equation.

Charlie grit his teeth as he glared at the man, gun aimed right at his head. "It's over Powers."

Elias Powers raised an eyebrow, and to Charlie's surprise, lowered his gun. "Not yet."

Before he could reply, Charlie was sent flying from a well-aimed kick to his back, his shot going wild. Emma. He stood up, looking around for his gun. He saw it, by the kitchen island and leaped for it. He never made it. Emma threw a solid punch across his face and finished with a roundhouse kick that sent him sliding into the cabinets.

Wincing as he sat up, he watched as Emma slowly came toward him, expressionless despite her attempts to kill him. He looked over where Powers had been and started when he realized the man was gone. He heard the front door close and panicked, scrambling off the floor and running toward the foyer. He couldn't let Powers get away. He was the only one who knew where Jason was. Right as he reached the door, Emma slammed against him, causing his face to hit the door painfully. Blood gushed from his nose, and he blinked to clear away the spots in front of his eyes. Emma may be small, but she was strong and knew how to fight.

He would have to handle her before he went after Powers. Knowing it was the only way, he turned around and landed a hard kick to Emma's chest, wincing as she let out a grunt and fell backwards. He didn't want to hurt her, but he also didn't want to let her kill him. Quickly taking advantage of her position, he pinned her down with his arms and knees, effectively subduing her for now. He needed to figure out where the chip was.

Emma growled and struggled underneath him, trying to break free. She was strong and Charlie found he had to really press hard, but he had several inches and lots more muscle on her, so she wasn't going anywhere.

Remembering something, Charlie dared to take one hand from restraining Emma, groping around behind her head, searching. Now that she had a free arm, Emma was taking advantage, punching his face and pulling at his hair in any attempt to throw him off. Charlie ignored her, still looking, and smiled when he felt it. A small, barely perceptible chip attached at her brainstem. He pulled at it, hoping that it wouldn't cause any damage. He didn't know what else to do.

As soon as the chip left her skin, Emma's struggles stopped. Holding the slightly bloody chip in his hand he waited, not ready to let her go, just in case. They both were panting from the fight, the only sound in the tense silence. Emma was blinking, as if she had just woken up and then groaned. She looked around her, finally focusing on Charlie above her.

Her face crumpled and she gasped. "Charlie!"

Charlie smiled slightly. Glad to have a friend back. "Hey, Emma," he said softly, standing and holding out a hand to help her up.

She was looking around at the damage everywhere in his house, looking confused and like she was trying to figure something out. She glanced at Charlie's bleeding nose and hugged herself unconsciously, looking scared.

Using one hand to wipe at his nose, Charlie put the other on her shoulder comfortingly, wondering what the last thing she remembered is, knowing how she feels. It was a horrible thing to not remember how you got somewhere. "You alright?"

She nods absently, then starts as her hand brushes against her jacket pocket. Charlie frowns and watches as she slowly pulls out what looks like an empty syringe.

Emma's eyes go wide and she gasps quietly, lost in her own nightmare as she looks at it. Charlie tries to get her attention, calling her name several times, worried by her expression. When she finally looks up, Charlie is surprised to see that she looks - apologetic?

"Charlie. They got Jason."

Charlie nodded grimly, his own fear starting to show again. "I know. Don't worry, we're going to get him back."

Emma shook her head, upset and biting her lip. She held up the syringe. "Charlie - I helped them do it."

* * *

There you go! Let me know what you think and if it was what you all were hoping for. I meant to make Charlie and Emma's fight longer, but I have to leave in 10 minutes and ran out of time.

Thanks to everyone who is still following this story, no matter how aggravating the author may be! ;) You are all awesome!


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